Nashville, Tenn. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres lost their third-consecutive game on Thursday night, as they were doubled up, 4-2, by the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
It was an eventful and memorable first period in Nashville for the newest member of the Sabres, defenseman Bowen Byram.
After the Predators opened the scoring with a power play goal from Filip Forsberg, Byram was able to fire a wrist shot through Predators goalie Juuse Saros for his first goal with his new team.
Byram arrived in time to make the lineup on Thursday after being acquired by the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
Nashville's power play went to work again in the first period, as Luke Evangelista scored with 3:45 remaining to give the Predators a 2-1 lead.
Following a scoreless middle period, Nashville added two more goals in the third frame to extend, what was, a one-goal edge into three. Both scores were from Forsberg, who completed his 10th-career hat-trick.
With the score 4-1, Nashville, the Sabres attempted to inch closer. They did just that with a little over seven minutes left to play as Byram made it a multi-point debut with an assist on Owen Power's fifth goal of the 2023-24 campaign.
That was as close as the blue and gold got, though, as the 4-2 score held up as the final as time ticked down on the period.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 4:23 - Bowen Byram (9) (Rasmus Dahlin, Peyton Krebs)
NSH: 3:53 - Filip Forsberg (31) PPG (Roman Josi, Gustav Nyquist); 16:15 - Luke Evangelista (12) PPG (Mark Jankowski, Tommy Novak)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
NSH: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 12:52 - Owen Power (5) (Bowen Byram)
NSH: 1:49 - Filip Forsberg (32) (Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O'Reilly); 6:43 - Filip Forsberg (33) (Jeremy Lauzon, Gustav Nyquist)
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Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Filip Forsberg - NSH
2.) Gustav Nyqvist - NSH
3.) Luke Evangelista - NSH
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What's next:
The Sabres return home to host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon for a 12:30 p.m. EST puck drop at KeyBank Center in Downtown Buffalo. Pregame coverage with Brian Koziol and Paul Hamilton on WGR starts at 11:30 a.m. EST,