Ducks 1, Sabres 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Goalie Frederik Andersen stopped 26 shots for his first shutout of the season, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 1-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night at the Honda Center.
Defenseman Sami Vatanen's power-play goal enabled Andersen to earn his fourth career shutout and the Ducks (32-19-8) to match their longest winning streak of the season with their sixth successive victory.
Anaheim used its 13th win in 15 games to move within two points of the first-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. The Ducks also built a two-point margin over the third-place San Jose Sharks.
Goalie Robin Lehner made 28 saves for the Sabres, who played their second consecutive game without center Ryan O'Reilly, the team's leading scorer. O'Reilly will miss three to four weeks because of a lower-body injury.
Vatanen scored his ninth goal at 3:20 of the second period, 59 seconds after Buffalo defenseman Mark Pysyk received a penalty for interference. Vatanen dragged a wrist shot from the top of the slot past Lehner.
The Sabres (24-30-7) had a chance to tie the score on a three-on-one rush with nearly 4 1/2 minutes left in the second period. However, Andersen used his glove to deflect left winger Evander Kane's wrist shot from the left circle. Right winger Justin Bailey tried to convert the rebound at the right post, but his backhanded shot ricocheted off Andersen's glove before hitting the post.
Buffalo had another opportunity to force a tie with about 8 1/2 minutes to play. Left winger Marcus Foligno skated through the defense and took a shot that Andersen blocked with the toe of his right skate. With the puck motionless on the ice, Sabres right winger Brian Gionta over-skated it. Anaheim right winger Ryan Garbutt immediately cleared the puck.
NOTES: Buffalo scratched D Cody Franson and C Cal O'Reilly. ... Sabres D Carlo Colaiacovo played in just his third game since Dec. 7. Colaiacovo took D Mike Weber's place in the pairing with D Mark Pysyk. Buffalo traded Weber to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. ... Sabres G Robin Lehner played in his 100th career game. ... Sabres coach Dan Bylsma played for the former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim from 2000-04. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer, D Clayton Stoner and C Harry Zolnierczyk. ... Through Tuesday, Ducks C Ryan Getzlaf had a league-leading 16 points and a plus-13 rating since the All-Star break. He added an assist against the Sabres. ... The game drew a crowd of 16,543.