Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550/WBEN) - The Buffalo Sabres fall in their first game back from the NHL All-Star break against the Dallas Stars, 2-1. Stars goalie Jake Oettinger was stellar in goal, turning away 47 shots in the victory.
The Stars struck early with Sabres center Tage Thompson in the penalty box for hooking.
Matt Duchene netted the game's first goal just 3:58 into the game, as he fired a wrist shot that Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen didn't get a read on as defenseman Erik Johnson went down to attempt a shot block.
The Sabres couldn't find an answer past Oettinger in net, as he turned away all 16 shots faced in the opening 20 minutes. Luukkonen, meanwhile, stopped seven of the eight shots he faced.
On their first chance of the night with the man advantage, the Sabres finally broke through with Thompson firing home a one-timer past Oettinger to tie the game at 1-1 with 14:07 left in the second period.
Dallas got the lead right back minutes later, as center Radek Faksa threw a rebound back towards the crease that banked in off his teammate Sam Steel in the crease.
The Sabres had a chance to tie the game with back-to-back power plays late in the period, but failed to convert on either opportunity.
Just moments into the third period, Buffalo got another shot on the power play with Duchene off for holding, but came up short of tying the game once again.
The Sabres' penalty kill went to work midway through the final frame, as they killed off 1:19 of a 5-on-3 power play for the Stars. First, Jordan Greenway went off for holding, then while a man down, Luukkonen was called for tripping. However, the score remained 2-1, Dallas.
Buffalo ended up successfully killing off another Dallas two-man advantage late in the game, but didn't have enough time to tie the game in the final minute with their net empty.
Despite outshooting the Stars 48-30, the Sabres failed to find a way to come out on the winning side of things for a third-straight game for the first time all season.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
DAL: 3:58 - Matt Duchene (18) PPG (Tyler Seguin, Mason Marchment)
Second Period:
BUF: 5:53 - Tage Thompson (15) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner)
DAL: 9:04 - Sam Steel (6) (Radek Faksa, Craig Smith)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
DAL: NONE
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Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Jake Oettinger - DAL
2.) Sam Steel - DAL
3.) Tage Thompson - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres welcome the St. Louis Blues to KeyBank Center for a Saturday afternoon matchup in Downtown Buffalo. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m. EST with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 12 p.m. EST with Brian Koziol.