Sabres defeat Stars, tie franchise record with 10th straight win

Tage Thompson had two goals and an assist for the Buffalo Sabres, who tied a franchise record by winning their 10th straight game, 4-1 against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday.

The Sabres have won 10 straight games three other times in their history, most recently from Nov. 8-27, 2018.

“It’s a lot of fun when you’re winning,” Thompson said. “We’re riding a little high right now, but at the same time, I think we’ve done a pretty good job after a win of coming back down to earth and making sure we’re ready for the next game. That’s how we’ve gone on this roll is making sure we’re doing the right things every game. When you’re winning games in a row it’s easy to kind of just expect to win, but right now we don’t have that. We’re just one day at a time, one game at a time.”

Josh Doan and Bowen Byram each had a goal and an assist for Buffalo (21-14-4). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves, and Noah Ostlund had two assists.

“It was a real tight game until the third period, when we got a couple and were able to win the game,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “It wasn’t the start we wanted, but I think the confidence of the team is that we can come back and win games.”

Mavrik Bourque scored, and Casey DeSmith made 27 saves for Dallas (25-8-7), which has lost three in a row (0-1-2).

“We ran into a good team,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “They’re a good team, first of all. They’re on a good run. They’re very confident. We weren’t quite ready to play, which is the concerning or disappointing part. The playing field for us is pretty level, meaning we’ve had a couple of good practices here, we’ve got good energy, we’re at home, we haven’t been traveling. Our energy levels should be high. That’s the disappointing or concerning part.”

Bourque gave the Stars a 1-0 lead just 15 seconds into the first period, chipping in a rebound in the slot.

“It’s another step in the right direction for our team," Byram said. "There have been instances where stuff like that happens in the game early, we fall behind, and we could never claw our way out of it. We have a lot of confidence right now no matter what the score is, and we just try to keep playing the same way.”

Doan tied it 1-1 at 7:44 of the second period with a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Thompson, who was below the goal line.

Byram gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead at 17:05. He skated in on a partial 2-on-1 with Josh Norris and roofed a shot blocker side on DeSmith from the right circle.

“We have created enough to score, but then we gave up too much, which we don’t normally do,” Stars forward Roope Hintz said. “... We’ve been giving up too much right now. Then just put the pucks in when you get the chance.”

Thompson extended the lead to 3-1 at 9:21 of the third period, burying a rebound from the edge of the crease. He then made it 4-1 at 11:35 when he beat DeSmith glove side from the high slot on a rush.

“Losing is tough, but it’s one of 82,” Dallas defenseman Thomas Harley said. “We get to turn around and do it all over again tomorrow night (at the Chicago Blackhawks).”