Sabres slain by Predators, 6-4

The Buffalo Sabres mounted an early comeback but couldn’t overcome a second multi-goal deficit, falling 6-4 to the Nashville Predators on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.

Zach Benson’s late game-tying goal was overturned for offsides and Nashville ultimately iced the game with an empty netter.

The defeat snapped a four-game winning streak for the Sabres, who next play Feb. 22 after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Alex Tuch, with a goal and two assists, now has six points in his last two games. Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram recorded one goal and one assist apiece, and Dylan Cozens added a power-play goal.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, starting in net for Buffalo after missing Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury, made 17 saves on 22 shots.

Tage Thompson also returned to the lineup after being unavailable Tuesday. He skated 18:37 and recorded three shots on goal.

Ryan O’Reilly (0+4), Jonathan Marchessault (1+2), Brady Skjei (2+0) and Filip Forsberg (2+0) each logged multi-point nights for Nashville, while Tommy Novak also scored. Goaltender Justus Annunen stopped 26 of 30 shots.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Period

Buffalo’s promising early chances included a post for JJ Peterka and a between-the-legs shot attempt for Thompson.

Nashville scored first at 6:57, though, as Novak held the puck on an odd-man rush and beat Luukkonen from the right circle.

And a 3-on-2 rush gave the Predators a 2-0 lead at 9:25, with O’Reilly finding Skjei alone in front for a tap-in goal.

Byram got Buffalo on the board at 15:21. Jason Zucker sped into the offensive zone along the left boards and lasered a pass to Byram, who ripped a one timer from the right circle. The goal marked Byram’s 100th career NHL point.

Three minutes later, Dahlin beat Annunen with a blocker-side wrist shot and tied the game 2-2. Buffalo’s captain snapped a 24-game goal drought and, with his 73rd career goal, tied Mike Ramsey for third most by a defenseman in Sabres history.

Second Period

The Sabres opened the period with a successful penalty kill; 1:42 had carried over from Tuch’s last-minute interference penalty in the first.

A mid-period 4-on-4 nearly yielded a go-ahead goal for Buffalo – twice. First, Byram’s backhand redirection in front got caught in Annunen’s pads near the goal line. Moments later, Peterka hit his second post of the night.

Cozens went to the box after a post-whistle scrum, and early in the power play, Forsberg buried a rebound to give Nashville a 3-2 lead.

Skjei followed 42 seconds later with his second goal of the night.

Facing another two-goal deficit, the Sabres responded with Tuch’s top-corner snipe at 17:41. Ryan McLeod set up the play with offensive-zone puck possession, while Byram and Dahlin both tallied assists for their second points.

Buffalo trailed 4-3 through 40 minutes despite holding a 27-15 edge in scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

Third Period

Seven minutes in, Forsberg restored the Predators’ two-goal lead with a one timer from the left dot.

The Sabres’ first man advantage of the night came halfway through the period on a Justin Barron tripping call. With 26 seconds remaining on the penalty, a Skjei hooking made it a 5-on-3 for Buffalo. Relentless pressure on the second power play resulted in a sharp-angle goal for Cozens at 12:30.

Zach Benson appeared to tie the game 30 seconds later, but Nashville successfully challenged for offsides.

Marchessault ended Buffalo’s 6-on-5 pressure with an empty netter in the final minute.

Read more at nhl.com/sabres.