LAS VEGAS (AP/WBEN) — Reilly Smith scored twice, Robin Lehner stopped 32 shots and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on Friday night.
Acquired at the trade deadline, newcomer Dominik Kahun made his Sabres debut and even scored on his first shot in a Buffalo uniform, but unfortunately for Sabres fans, it just wasn't enough to inspire a win.
Welcome to the Sabres, Dominik! --#Sabres50 pic.twitter.com/CsVR6tkmNA
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) February 29, 2020After falling to Colorado in a 3-2 heartbreaker on Wednesday, the Sabres have now lost two consecutive games, diminishing their already slim playoff hopes. Heading into Saturday night's game in Arizona, the Sabres sit 10 points back of Toronto - the team they'd likely have to catch if they want to make any sort of playoff dream a reality.
William Karlsson and Nicolas Roy also scored to help Vegas get its franchise-record eighth straight win and open a six-point lead ahead of Vancouver and Edmonton in the Pacific Division — the largest lead in the division by any team this season. The Golden Knights improved to 12-3-2 under coach Pete DeBoer, and 21-10-4 at home.
Carter Hutton finished with 24 saves and Jeff Skinner scored the second Sabres goal with just 11.8 seconds left in the third period.
Jack Eichel leads Buffalo into a matchup against Arizona. He ranks ninth in the league with 77 points, scoring 35 goals and recording 42 assists.
The Coyotes are 16-12-4 at home. Arizona serves 6.5 penalty minutes per game, the fewest in the NHL. Barrett Hayton leads the team averaging 0.8.
The Sabres are 10-17-4 in road games. Buffalo has given up 45 power-play goals, killing 74% of opponent chances.
In their last meeting on Oct. 28, Arizona won 3-2.
