National Hockey League
Buffalo 4, Nashville 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 13, 2022
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Bevan Mills, Vaughan Rody
Attendance: 17159

Jeff Skinner scored twice and the visiting Buffalo Sabres snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

Mark Jankowski and Vinnie Hinostroza also scored for Buffalo, which was 0-4-2 during its skid. Aaron Dell made 29 saves for his first win of the season (1-5-0).

Matt Duchene scored and Juuse Saros made 17 saves for the Predators, whose five-game winning streak came to an end.

Jankowski benefitted from a miscue by the Predators to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 5:30 of the first period. Jankowski, in the slot, tipped Mark Pysyk's point shot toward the net where Nashville defenseman Matt Benning's attempt to clear inadvertently pushed the puck under Saros' right pad into the net.

Pysyk's assist was the 100th point of his NHL career.

The Predators appeared to tie it 1-1 on a delayed penalty to the Sabres, 42 seconds into the second period. Colton Sissons' shot from the top of the right circle went in, but the Sabres challenged for offside and the goal was overturned after video review.

Nashville pressed in the second period, holding a 7-1 shot advantage nearly halfway through the middle frame.

The home side finally got on the board on the power play at 13:12. Dell made the initial save on Roman Josi's shot, but the rebound bounced into traffic in the slot, where Duchene got his stick on it to tie it 1-1 with his team-leading 17th goal of the season.

The Predators nearly took a lead less than two minutes later when a shot from the slot bounced up in the air around the net. But Dell was quick to jump on the loose puck when it landed to the left of the net.

Skinner gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead on the power play at 18:18 of the second, lifting a rebound from in front over Saros. He extended it to 3-1 on a breakaway at 7:59 of the third period.

Hinostroza made it 4-1 with an empty-net goal at 18:46.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Buffalo   Nashville
Jeff Skinner 2 Points Matt Duchene 1
Jeff Skinner 2 Goals Matt Duchene 1
Kyle Okposo 2 Assists Ryan Johansen 1
Jeff Skinner 1 Power Play Goals Matt Duchene 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Aaron Dell .967 Save Percentage Juuse Saros .850
Aaron Dell 29 Saves Juuse Saros 17
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Buffalo 21 4 1-4 3-4 8 22
Nashville 30 1 1-4 3-4 8 28
Upcoming Games
  • Nashville will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Predators have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .692 after a loss.
  • Buffalo will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Sabres have a W/L % of .455 after a win and .240 after a loss.