Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - Vladamir Tarasenko scored a hat trick leading the Blues to a 6-2 victory over the Sabres Thursday night at KeyBank Center. Owen Power earned his first NHL point with an assist in the loss. St. Louis continued their dominance over the Sabres as they have gone 15-2-1 in the last 18 matchups.
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After killing off an early penalty, the Sabres would take the lead as Rasmus Asplund would deflect home a point shot by Henri Jokiharju with 7:40 left in the first period.
Buffalo would get into more penalty trouble late in the period as Cody Eakin and Owen Power took back to back penalties putting the Sabres two men down. St. Louis took advantage as David Perron would make it 1-1 with just 23.7 seconds left in the first.
It only took :17 seconds for the Blues to take the lead in the second. With Owen Power still in the box, Brandon Saad would score making it 2-1.
Owen Power would earn his first NHL point as he set up Alex Tuch for a game tying goal 4:20 into the second.
St. Louis would push back strong as Vladamir Tarasenko score two second period goals five minutes apart. Tarasenko's 30th goal on the season gave the Blues a 4-2 lead.
Pavel Buchnevich would extend the Blues lead to 5-2 as he chipped a bouncing puck past Anderson 6:18 into the third period. The Sabres would get into desperation mode pulling Anderson late in regulation. Tarasenko would hit the empty net earning a hat trick on the night capping off a 6-2 victory. Blues center Robert Thomas finished the night with five assists in the win.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 12:20 - Rasmus Asplund (8) (Jokiharju)
STL: 19:36 - David Perron (25) (Krug, Tarasenko)
Second Period:
BUF: 4:20 - Alex Tuch (11) (Power, Thompson)
STL: 19:43 - Brandon Saad (21) (Thomas, Tarasenko), 7:18 - Vladimir Tarasenko (29) (Buchnevich, Thomas), 12:45 - Vladimir Tarasenko (30) (Krug, Thomas)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
STL: 6:18 - Pavel Buchnevich (26) (Parayko, Thomas), 17:32 - Vladamir Tarasenko (31) (Buchnevich, Thomas)
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 5:19 - Rasmus Dahlin (Hooking), 18:08 - Cody Eakin (Hooking), 19:05 - Owen Power (Cross checking)
STL: 14:50 - Brandan Saad (High sticking)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
STL: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
STL: 14:24 - Ivan Barbashev (Slashing)
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Vladamir Tarasenko - STL
2.) Robert Thomas - STL
3.) Pavel Buchnevich - STL
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What's next:
The blue and gold will continue the home stand this weekend as they host the Philadelphia Flyers for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop. Catch all of the action on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550 starting with the pregame at 6 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol. Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams joins the pregame at 6:10 p.m. ET.