Howden scores in third straight game, Golden Knights defeat Sabres

LAS VEGAS -- Brett Howden scored in his third straight game for the Vegas Golden Knights in a 5-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Howden, Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault each had a goal and an assist, and Max Pacioretty and William Karlsson each had two assists for the Golden Knights (27-16-3) in their final game before hosting the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend.
Robin Lehner made 30 saves for the Golden Knights, who are 4-1-1 in their past six games.
"We were staring at the four-game road trip, four really tough teams and Buffalo to end it before the break, and we wanted to find another level to make sure we went into the break in a good place," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "And I think everybody did that."

Alex Tuch scored in his first game against the Golden Knights, and Craig Anderson made 29 saves for the Sabres (14-24-7), who have lost four of six. Tuch and rookie forward Peyton Krebs were traded to the Sabres for center Jack Eichel on Nov. 4.
"Mentally, we're not as sharp, and it manifested physically," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "Just took us too much time to snap in it each period throughout the game. We could never consistently do what we do. Just flashes here, flashes there. Even when we generated chances, we couldn't convert."
The Sabres started a line of Tuch, Krebs and Cody Eakin, who also played his first game at T-Mobile Arena since being traded to the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 21, 2020. All three received a combined tribute video early in the first period.
"That was pretty special. Kind of rolled right into that tribute there, and it was nice," Tuch said. "It was tough, but very fortunate, and it was very nice that they did that. Vegas gave me a lot, and that's just another thing to add to the list."

Reilly Smith gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead 33 seconds into the first period, finishing a tic-tac-toe passing play with Karlsson and Marchessault.
"I'm always trying to put the puck on the net and create opportunities," Smith said. "It's nice to help the team get an early lead."
Howden made it 2-0 at 18:19 after gathering a loose puck and scoring glove side. The goal extended his personal point streak to four games (three goals, three assists).
"He's playing with more confidence," Smith said of Howden. "His head is up as soon as he gets his first touch on the puck, and he's driving the net hard."
Marchessault scored his team-leading 20th goal of the season on the power play to extend the lead to 3-0 at 1:31 of the second period.
Keegan Kolesar scored shorthanded off a pass from Howden to make it 4-0 at 4:27. It was Kolesar's first shorthanded goal of his NHL career and the seventh by Vegas this season.

Tuch cut it to 4-1 at 16:00.
"That was tough to score in that situation," Tuch said. "Kind of got a little bit of energy from it, but obviously not a lot. We put ourselves in a big hole there. Felt good, but not great there."
Stone made it 5-1 at 1:14 of the third period after receiving a pass from Pacioretty behind the net. It was the forward's first goal since Jan. 6.
John Hayden scored his first goal for Buffalo at 12:23 for the 5-2 final.
NOTES: Tuch has scored 13 points (five goals, eight assists) since making his debut with the Sabres on Dec. 29. … Sabres forward Tage Thompson had an assist in his return to the lineup; he missed Sunday's 4-1 loss at the Colorado Avalanche with an undisclosed injury. … The Sabres played with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. … It was the Golden Knights' 200th regular-season win in their history (200-110-27 in five NHL seasons). … Marchessault set a Golden Knights record with his fourth 20-goal season. Pacioretty is next with three. … Vegas defenseman Kaedan Korczak, a second-round pick (No. 41) by the Golden Knights in the 2019 NHL Draft, blocked a shot and was a plus-1 in 16:37 in his NHL debut. … Sabres forward Rasmus Asplund had five shots in 15:23 in his 100th NHL game after missing two games in NHL COVID-19 protocol. … Hayden signed a one-year contract with Buffalo on July 29.