Victor Olofsson’s power-play goal in the second period gave the Buffalo Sabres a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Nashville Predators on Friday.
At 14:25 of the second frame, Olofsson broke a 3-3 deadlock. The forward blasted a one-timer from the right circle past Nashville goalie Juuse Saros for his 15th goal of the season.
Buffalo is on an eight-game points streak (5-0-3), with all eight of those games decided by a single goal. It is the Sabres’ longest points streak since the team went 7-0-1 in eight games spanning the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
The Predators had their two-game winning streak end, missing a chance to solidify their bid for a playoff spot. Nashville (39-25-4, 82 points) still holds the top Western Conference wild-card position.
Buffalo’s Tage Thompson scored his 29th and 30th goals of the season, reaching the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his five NHL seasons.
Olofsson and Peyton Krebs each had a goal and an assist for Buffalo (25-33-11, 61 points). Dylan Cozens and Alex Tuch each had two assists.
Filip Forsberg, Michael McCarron and Jeremy Lauzon all scored for Nashville. Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen had two assists apiece.
Both teams collected three goals during a high-octane first period. The Sabres carried a 3-1 lead into the last three minutes before intermission, but the Predators equalized on late goals from McCarron and Lauzon.
The Sabres built their lead thanks to a pair of Predators turnovers in their own zone, resulting in goals from Krebs and Thompson. Nashville’s Tanner Jeannot also accidentally deflected Thompson’s shot into the Predators’ net, giving Thompson his milestone 30th goal in unusual fashion.
The defenses tightened up over the final two periods, with the Predators enduring a stretch of nearly 19 minutes without a shot on goal.
Sabres goalie Craig Anderson saw plenty of work in the final few minutes as Nashville made a late push for the equalizer. Anderson finished the game with 22 saves on 25 shots.
Saros stopped 31 of 35 shots, coming up with several big saves in the third period to keep his team close.
–Field Level Media