BUFFALO, N.Y (AP) — Victor Olofsson scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 2:55 left in the game, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 6-3 on Tuesday night for their second consecutive win.
Alex Tuch added a goal and assist for Buffalo. Tage Thompson, Kyle Okposo, Henri Jokiharju also scored. Dylan Cozens had three assists and Peyton Krebs had two. Dustin Tokarski made 30 saves.
Kyle Palmieri scored twice for the Islanders, who finished out a four-game trip on a three-game skid. Anders Lee had a goal and an assist, and Ilya Sorokin stopped 35 of 39 shots.
Olofson recorded his 100th NHL point when he scored his first goal on a wrist shot from the right circle. It was his sixth, and an empty-netter. Jokiharju also had an empty-netter in the final minute.
Palmieri's second goal tied it for the Islanders with 10:04 remaining in the third period. Surpassing his scoring total through the first 29 games, Palmieri put it in the right side of the net after Lee’s shot bounced off the boards.
Tuch gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead on a power play with 0.6 seconds left in the second period when he tipped a hurried wrist shot by Krebs and the puck bounced past Sorokin. Tuch has 19 points in 16 games with the Sabres since he and Krebs were acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in a trade for former captain Jack Eichel.
Lee evened it up for the Islanders with 7:11 remaining in the second, jamming in a bouncing puck for his 13th goal after Zdeno Chara’s hard one-timer shot through traffic.
Thompson scored his first short-handed NHL goal to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead 1:36 into the second period. Spinning away from New York’s Mathew Barzal before he knocked in the rebound from Cozens’ slap shot, Thompson tallied his 16th and extended his point streak to five games.
Palmieri entered the lineup after three games as a healthy scratch and scored for the first time since Nov. 16 with 7:54 remaining in the first period. Brock Nelson took the puck from Buffalo’s Anders Bjork to create a 2-on-1 chance, and Anthony Beauvillier set up Palmieri for a one-timer from the slot.
The Islanders allowed the opening goal for the ninth time in 10 games when Okposo redirected Casey Fitzgerald’s point shot over Sorokin’s blocking pad 10:53 into the first. It was Okposo’s 10th goal.
EXTENDED STAY
Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov will remain in Canada for at least six days due to his positive COVID-19 test result prior to Saturday’s game in Calgary, coach Barry Trotz said Tuesday.
Cory Schneider was called up from the minors on Monday for backup.
LINEUP NOTES
Islanders: D Sebastian Aho replaced Andy Green in the lineup and had an assist on Palmieri’s goal.
Sabres: D Mark Pysyk started in his 500th NHL game after he was a healthy scratch for the first time this season for Sunday’s win in Montreal. … F Casey Mittelstadt is close to returning from an upper-body injury that has caused him to miss his 40th game and fourth in a row.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host Boston on Thursday.
Sabres: Host Ottawa on Thursday.
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