Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned his first-career shutout on Sunday afternoon, as Buffalo blanks the Colorado Avalanche, 4-0, at KeyBank Center.
Rasmus Dahlin also scored in the win to extend his point streak to eight games.
After getting through some early chances from the Avalanche, it was JJ Peterka giving the Sabres a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. The young winger followed up his own blocked shot, and snapped home the game's first goal.
After the two teams traded tripping penalties late in the first period, the Sabres needed to kill off the remainder of a Zach Benson penalty to start the second.
Just after Benson stepped out of the box and back on the ice, it was Casey Mittelstadt extending the Sabres lead to 2-0 on a 3-on-1 rush.
The Sabres extended their lead to 3-0 later in the second period, as Tyson Jost netted his first goal of the season on a great backhand feed from Alex Tuch. The goal also came against the team that drafted Jost with the 10th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
There would be no scoring until the Avalanche emptied their net late in the third, and it was Dahlin scoring from his own end right off the Tage Thompson faceoff win to make it 4-0.
Meanwhile, Luukkonen was able to keep the Avalanche silent on the afternoon, as he stopped all 23 shots faced to earn the first shutout of his NHL career.
----------
GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 10:32 - JJ Peterka (4) (Jeff Skinner)
COL: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 1:39 - Casey Mittelstadt (2) (Jeff Skinner, Henri Jokiharju), 8:16 - Tyson Jost (1) (Alex Tuch, Owen Power)
COL: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 16:52 - Rasmus Dahlin (2) ENG (Tage Thompson)
COL: NONE
----------
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 19:28 - Zach Benson (Tripping - 2 min.)
COL: 17:27 - Mikko Rantanen (Tripping - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 12:50 - Mattias Samuelsson (Holding - 2 min.); 18:30 - Jordan Greenway (Tripping - 2 min.)
COL: 2:07 - Tomas Tatar (Tripping - 2 min.); 15:28 - Nathan MacKinnon (Unsportsmanlike conduct - 2 min.); 15:28 - Nathan MacKinnon (10-min. misconduct)
Third Period:
BUF: 3:33 - Jordan Greenway (Tripping - 2 min.); 11:12 - Zach Benson (Slashing - 2 min.); 19:54 - Jeff Skinner (Cross-checking - 2 min.)
COL: NONE
----------
----------
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - BUF
2.) Jeff Skinner - BUF
3.) JJ Peterka - BUF
----------
What's next:
The Sabres will head to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers in the first game of a home-and-home series on Wednesday night. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550. Pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.