Sabres defeat Blues, extend winning streak to 9

ST. LOUIS -- Zach Benson scored the go-ahead goal at 1:46 of the third period for the Buffalo Sabres, who extended their winning streak to nine games with a 4-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Monday.

Blues forward Dalibor Dvorsky broke up Ryan McLeod's centering pass for Jack Quinn, but the puck popped over to the right post, where Benson batted it into the open net to make it 3-2.

“It just started with getting the puck to the goal line,” Benson said. “And then [McLeod] made a nice play, [Quinn] made a good play, and it poked out and I was kind of in the right spot at the right time and tapped it in.

“It’s a pretty good vibe around here, eh? It’s awesome to be a part of and just looking to keep going here.”

Noah Ostlund and Alex Tuch also scored for the Sabres (20-14-4), who hadn't won nine in a row since winning 10 straight from Nov. 8-27, 2018. Alex Lyon made 16 saves.

“When you looked at the second and third period, the way we played, we couldn’t put them away, but we had the bulk of the chances and almost every opportunity to open that game right up,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.

Buffalo has also won six straight on the road, its longest streak since it also won six in a row from Dec. 8-29, 1976.

“We have a lot of character in this room,” Benson said. “Everyone knows we have skill, but how many blocks we have on a night, pucks getting out on a wall, it’s just little things like that and it adds up throughout a game. We’re doing all the details right.”

Brayden Schenn and Jimmy Snuggerud scored for the Blues (15-17-8), who have alternated wins and losses in their past nine games (4-4-1). Joel Hofer made 30 saves.

“What it really comes down to is we’ve got to have a better effort than that,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “We have to play with more purpose and pride, and the physicality just isn’t good enough right now.”

Ostlund gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 2:19 of the first period, scoring with a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Josh Norris, who intercepted Logan Mailloux's clearing attempt at the blue line to start a short 2-on-1.

Schenn tied it 1-1 at 5:08. He skated into a drop pass from Otto Stenberg before beating Lyon short side from the left circle.

Snuggerud put the Blues in front 2-1 at 8:09, jamming in the puck at the left post after Robby Fabbri's initial backhand was stopped. Snuggerud began the play by stripping the puck away from Mattias Samuelsson behind the net.

“We kind of started the game well,” Snuggerud said. “We were physical, (but the) second and third weren't great. We have to stay consistent throughout the whole game, especially when we’re playing a team on an eight-game winning streak. It’s an unfortunate loss and it stinks.”

The Sabres thought they tied it at 3:55 of the second period, but the officials determined that Tuch kicked the puck into the net.

However, Tuch did end up tying it 2-2 at 15:17. Skating in on a 3-on-2 rush, he took a cross-ice pass from Samuelsson and scored with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.

“We pushed the ‘D’ back, ‘Sammy’ found me, and I was able to find the back of the net,” Tuch said.

Buffalo outshot St. Louis 14-7 in the second period before holding a 12-2 advantage in the third.

“We outplayed them in the second. We turned the game in our direction," Ruff said. "We stacked a bunch of good shifts together in the O-zone, and I thought we followed it up with an even better third period. We only gave up two shots. We got a little sloppy at the end on the power play, but other than that, our third period was rock-solid.”

After Benson put the Sabres in front, Peyton Krebs scored into an empty net at 18:44 for the 4-2 final.

Snuggerud, though, had a chance to tie the game just prior to Krebs' goal. After Lyon misplayed the puck behind the net, Jake Neighbours sent a backhand pass into the slot to Snuggerud, who whiffed on a one-timer at what would have been an open net.

“I was just a little inside. It was a great play by [Neighbours], but those ones are hard sometimes,” Snuggerud said. “You don't know whether to use your foot or use your stick. You try doing both and then it seeps through that little hole. I take responsibility for it. I've got to try and bear down more. It stinks, but we've got to move on to the next.”

NOTES: All four of Benson’s goals have come in his past eight games after he failed to score in his first 17 games this season. ... Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin had five shots in 23:40 of ice time in his return after missing one game to return to Sweden to be with his fiancee, who is recovering from a heart transplant. ... St. Louis defenseman Cam Fowler was minus-4 in 22:25 of ice time.