At the Horn | Stars 4 - Sabres 2

The Buffalo Sabres twice answered go-ahead goals by the Dallas Stars, but they couldn’t muster a late third-period comeback Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

Wyatt Johnston’s go-ahead goal 11:32 into the third period gave the Stars a 4-2 victory on New Year’s Eve and ended Buffalo’s winning streak at three games.

Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 29 saves on 32 shots, denying a number of A-grade scoring chances to keep Buffalo in the game.

Jason Zucker and Beck Malenstyn scored for the Sabres. Bowen Byram tallied an assist, three shots and a game-high five blocked shots.

Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson and Esa Lindell scored the Stars’ other goals, and defenseman Thomas Harley notched a pair of assists. Goalie Casey DeSmith stopped 21 of 23 shots and recorded an assist on Lindell’s empty-net goal.

Buffalo killed its only shorthanded situation and, for the first time this season, went without a power-play opportunity.

Here’s more from the loss.

First Period

Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton struggled to get up from an early collision in the corner and needed to be helped to the bench, but he returned for his next shift a minute later.

Buffalo’s best first-period scoring chance came five minutes in, when DeSmith denied Sam Lafferty’s 2-on-1 shot with a glove save.

Luukkonen picked up right where he left off Sunday and made several excellent saves – with the left pad on Evgenii Dadonov in tight, the blocker on a Jamie Benn shot from the slot and the left pad again on Hintz alone in front, to name a few – to keep Dallas off the board early.

A Clifton cross-checking penalty sent the Stars to their first power play late in the period; Hintz hit the post as Dallas came up empty.

The Stars outshot Buffalo 12-8 in the scoreless opening frame.

Second Period

Luukkonen made another terrific save midway through the period to rob Logan Stankoven in the slot.

Moments after, a 2-on-1 rush saw Zach Benson hold onto the puck and deke around DeSmith, but the Dallas goalie made a sprawling glove save to keep the puck from crossing the goal line.

Hintz finally beat Luukkonen through a screen at 9:49 to give Dallas a 1-0 lead.

But Buffalo responded just 31 seconds later at 10:20 to tie the game; Byram’s shot from the point sat loose behind DeSmith, and Zucker reached into the blue paint to tally his 11th goal of the season. Tage Thompson earned the primary assist, having deflected Byram’s shot on its way to the net.

The teams notched 10 shots apiece in the second, and through 40 minutes they’d each generated nine high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

Third Period

Benn hit the post – Dallas’ second of the night – on a partial breakaway one minute into the period.

Continued offensive-zone pressure for the Stars led to Roberton’s go-ahead goal at 2:35; Robertson intercepted Jack Quinn’s clearing attempt in the slot and beat Luukkonen low on the blocker side.

Dallas nearly doubled its lead a couple minutes later, but Rasmus Dahlin dove behind Luukkonen to swipe a loose puck off the goal line.

Much like in the second period, the Sabres didn’t wait long to respond with a game-tying goal. At 4:57, Lafferty’s shot from the right circle deflected off Malenstyn in the crease and through DeSmith. It marked Malenstyn’s fourth goal of the season and second in the last four games.

Johnston gave Dallas a 3-2 lead at 11:32, redirecting Harley’s shot up and over Luukkonen’s right shoulder.

Buffalo pulled Luukkonen for an extra attacker but, after failing to set up in the offensive zone, saw Lindell score into the open net to secure the Stars win.

The third was the game’s most lopsided period in terms of shots, as Dallas held an 11-5 advantage in that category.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT

The Sabres head to Colorado for a Thursday night matchup with the Avalanche. Coverage on MSG begins at 8:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 9.