Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 34 saves, while Rasmus Dahlin scored twice to help lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-2 win on Tuesday night over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.
Dahlin made his presence known early drawing a power play for the Sabres midway through the first period. He then capitalized on the man advantage to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. Kristian Vesalianen tripped the Buffalo defenseman and was in the penalty box when Dahlin received a Tage Thompson pass in the offensive end and scored his fourth goal of the year.
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored less than three minutes later for the Jets to tie the game 1-1 in the opening frame. Dubois' 14th goal of the season was assisted by Josh Morrissey.
Buffalo was able to kill off Robert Hagg's holding minor to keep the game tied at 1-1 late in the first period. The minor penalty gave the Jets their first power play opportunity of the night.
Luukkonen made a total of 14 saves in the first period, while Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped six of the seven Sabres shots as well.
Anders Bjork was able to beat Hellebuyck midway through the second period to give the Sabres their second lead of the game. The forward was alone in front of the net, on the receiving end of a Vinnie Hinostroza pass through traffic. Hinostroza and Cody Eakin were credited with the assists on the goal to make the score, 2-1.
Winnipeg, once again, answered in short order. This time, Nikolaj Ehlers was able to finish the chance for Winnipeg, tying the game at 2-2. The Jets were unable score on a 3-on-1 opportunity, but kept the puck in the offensive zone for Ehlers to score his 11th goal of the year. Dubois and Brenden Dillon received the assists.
Dahlin's second goal of the game came with less than a minute to go in the middle stanza, and helped Buffalo to a 3-2 lead after two periods. Thompson created traffic in front of the net to help create the goal, as he and Victor Olofsson were credited with assists on the goal.
Jeff Skinner's ninth goal of the season midway through the third period ballooned the Sabres' lead to 4-2 over Winnipeg. The forward used an odd-man rush to beat Hellebuyck with a shot from the slot. Olofsson and Henri Jokiharju assisted on the goal.
Lukkonen made nine saves in the third period to help secure his first win of the season for the Sabres, while the team ended their seven-game winless streak. He helped Buffalo kill off an early third period penalty by Cody Eakin to preserve the win.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 7:14 - Rasmus Dahlin (4) PPG (Tage Thompson)
WPG: 10:04 - Pierre-Luc Dubois (14) (Josh Morrisey)
Second Period:
BUF: 11:30 - Anders Bjork (4) (Vinnie Hinostroza, Cody Eakin); 19:21 - Rasmus Dahlin (5) (Victor Olofsson, Tage Thompson)
WPG: 12:36 - Nikolaj Ehlers (11) (Pierre-Luc Dubois, Brenden Dillon)
Third Period:
BUF: 11:55 - Jeff Skinner (9) (Victor Olofsson, Henri Jokiharju)
WPG: NONE
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 14:33 - Robert Hagg (Holding - 2 min.)
WPG: 6:42 - Kristian Vesalainen (Tripping - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 1:45 - Kyle Okposo (Slashing - 2 min.)
WPG: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 0:55 - Cody Eakin (High sticking - 2 min.)
WPG: 16:14 - Nate Schmidt (High sticking - 2 min.)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Rasmus Dahlin - BUF
2.) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - BUF
3.) Pierre-Luc Dubois - WPG
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What's next:
The Sabres continue their three-game road trip on Thursday night with a visit to Minnesota to take on the Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Faceoff is set for 8 p.m. EST with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 7 p.m. EST with Brian Koziol.
