Hofer makes 28 saves, Blues shut out Sabres

BUFFALO -- Joel Hofer made 28 saves to help the St. Louis Blues to a 3-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

Hofer, who earned his third career shutout, started after stopping 15 of 17 shots in relief of Jordan Binnington in a 6-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.

“Especially after last night, it tells a lot about our group, the character we have,” Hofer said. “After last night it was tough but bounced back and got a good win.”

Mathieu Joseph had a goal and two assists, and Justin Faulk had a goal and an assist for the Blues (5-8-2), who have won two of three.

St. Louis scratched forward Jordan Kyrou, who entered the game tied for second on the team with eight points (four goals, four assists) in 14 games.

“There were several people we weren’t happy with the effort last night,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It didn’t matter the role, there were a lot of guys that didn’t play up to their role or responsibilities on the team. And the players we ended up going with we thought gave us the best opportunity to win tonight.”

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 14 saves for the Sabres (5-5-4), who had their seven-game point streak end (3-0-4).

“We missed some early opportunities that I think could have changed the game,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “… I thought we came out, the pressure we had in the first period I liked. I didn’t think we shot the puck enough, was probably the negative in the game. Even the last short-handed 2-on-1 (we had late in the third period), again, the decision not to shoot it. A few times, guys running down the flanks, we made a decision to defer to try the different play, and I think those hurt us.

“I’ll give them some credit, they did a pretty darn good job of being in shot lanes and blocking shots. We didn’t get enough there, though.”

Joseph scored short-handed to give the Blues a 1-0 lead at 12:38 of the first period. He pressured Jack Quinn into a turnover at the left point, skated in on a breakaway, and put a wrist shot past the stick of Luukkonen.

“I’m just trying to be aggressive on the penalty kill,” Joseph said. “When I see opportunities to attack, try to get breakaways, sometimes the opposition isn’t playing as tight defense on the power play. Kind of got a lucky bounce at the blue line and tried to attack the net.”

Nick Bjugstad made it 2-0 at 2:42 of the second period. He took a pass from Faulk in the neutral zone, skated to the top of the left circle and beat Luukkonen far side.

Faulk scored an empty-net goal at 18:58 of the third period for the 3-0 final.

“We knew the situation they’re in and how we knew they were going to come out hard,” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said. “They played well. I don’t know what the shot (total) was at the end of the game, but the result shouldn’t have been what it was tonight, that’s for sure.”

NOTES: Oskar Sundqvist was also scratched for the Blues. … The Sabres had earned a point in nine of their previous 10 games (5-1-4) before the loss. … Buffalo was 0-for-3 on the power play and is 2-for-21 in its past seven games.