BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker scored less than two minutes apart in the second period and the Buffalo Sabres held on to win their sixth game in a row, 3-2 over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Josh Doan scored 16 seconds into the third period for a 3-1 lead and Alex Lyon made 23 saves for Buffalo, which played the first of a five-game homestand and has now earned a point in 13 of its last 15 games.
Thompson extended his point streak to a career-best 10 games (six goals, five assists) with his goal with 7:21 to play in the second period. Zucker made it 2-1 with 5:43 to play in the period.
Zachary L’Heureux scored his first goal of the season to give the Predators a 1-0 lead at 1:17 of the second period and Matthew Wood added a power-play goal with less than four minutes to play to pull Nashville within 3-2. Juuse Saros made 21 saves.
With an assist on L’Heureux’s goal, Nashville’s Jonathan Marchessault now has 300 career NHL assists.
The Sabres are now 29-2-0 this season when they have the lead after two periods.
The Predators, coming off a 6-3 win over Boston, have now lost four of their last five games.
The game was Sam Carrick’s first in a Buffalo uniform since he was acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers, and he played a critical role in the victory by winning two crucial faceoffs against Ryan O’Reilly in the final minutes.
Up next
Predators: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
Sabres: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
