Peyton Krebs scored the game-winning goal with 3:01 remaining in the third period and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 4-3 at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.
Krebs’ second goal in as many games came 3:20 after the Islanders tied the game at 2-2 in the final period.
Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn each had a power-play goal and an assist. Thompson recorded his 38th goal of the season and has 211 goals with Buffalo which is tied with Alexander Mogilny for 12th all-time in franchise history.
Bowen Byram netted the empty netter as the Sabres moved to 23-2-0 when leading after the first period.
The Sabres became the 11th team in NHL history to reach 2,000 wins, eclipsed the 100-point mark for the 10th time in team history and recorded the first 100-point season since 2009-10.
Buffalo is back into first place in the Atlantic Division with a two-point lead after Tampa Bay’s loss to Montreal. The Sabres have earned at least one point in 23 of their last 27 games with a 20-4-3 record in that span.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started for the second straight game and made 25 saves including a glove stop on Anders Lee’s penalty shot in the second period.
Josh Norris took a hit along the wall from Lee and went down with 1:47 to play in the second period. He went to the locker room but returned for the third period.
Sam Carrick fought Lee immediately following puck drop to start the third period and suffered an injury. He went down the tunnel and did not return.
