Vasilevskiy, Lightning throttle Sabres
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
It was the second shutout of the season and the sixth of his career for Vasilevskiy, who leads the NHL in wins with 16.
Defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and Dan Girardi scored for the Lightning (17-5-2), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Robin Lehner made 24 saves for the Sabres (6-15-4), whose struggles continued. Buffalo has one win in its past 10 games, a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 24. The Sabres were also shut out in their last game, 3-0 to Montreal on Saturday.
Sergachev opened the scoring with 3:31 remaining in the first with a blast from the back end on the power play. Sergachev's shot made it through traffic for his sixth goal of the year.
Girardi made it 2-0 with 7:52 remaining in the second on a shot from the right point. Girardi's long shot deflected off Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella's skate into the net for Girardi's first goal of the season.
The Sabres pulled Lehner with more than four minutes remaining but were unable to score with the extra attacker.
Vasilevskiy's best moments came with just over two minutes remaining when he stopped Matt Moulson and Evander Kane from close range.
The Sabres received a break after it looked like top defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen suffered a potentially serious injury. After being hit into the Tampa Bay net by Braydon Coburn, Ristolainen was in noticeable pain and immediately went to the locker room. He returned at the start of the third period, however, and played the rest of the game.
NOTES: LW Matt Moulson returned for the Sabres after being a healthy scratch in six consecutive games. Moulson has no points in 13 games this season. ... C Jacob Josefson (ankle) and D Josh Gorges (healthy) were scratched for the Sabres. Josefson had recently returned and was playing well before suffering an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out 4-to-6 weeks. ... RW J.T. Brown was scratched for the Lightning. ... This was the first of four meetings this season. The next encounter is Feb. 13 in Buffalo. ... Tampa Bay swept the four-game series last season.