Predators 2, Sabres 1 (SO)
Rookie Filip Forsberg scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout as visiting Nashville averted its first three-game losing streak of the season.
Mike Ribeiro netted the tying goal with 4:17 left in the third period for the NHL-leading Predators, who never held a lead during their 1-1-1 road trip. Recently acquired Mike Santorelli also converted in the bonus format while Carter Hutton made 10 of his 16 saves over the final 25 minutes of play.
Tyler Ennis scored the lone goal in regulation and the only tally in the shootout for Buffalo, which absorbed its 21st defeat in 24 games (3-19-2). Michal Neuvirth was superb in net, turning aside 37 shots as he was less than 4 1/2 minutes away from his first shutout since March 2012.
The Sabres went nearly 11 1/2 minutes before recording their first shot on goal and more than nine before their initial shot of the second period, but they forged ahead on Ennis' tally with 13.9 seconds left in the session. Matt Moulson sprung Zemgus Girgensons down the left side and he delivered a behind-the-back pass to Ennis, who pulled the puck around Hutton for an easy conversion on Buffalo's seventh shot.
Nashville had a 26-7 advantage in shots and failed on its first five power-play chances against the league's worst penalty kill through the first two periods. Hutton denied Buffalo captain Brian Gionta on a breakaway with just over seven minutes remaining to keep it a one-goal game, and the Predators finally broke through on their sixth power play as Ribeiro tapped in the rebound of defenseman Cody Franson's blast into an open net.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ennis took over the team goal-scoring lead from Girgensons with his 15th tally. ... Franson collected his first point in his second game with the Predators since being acquired along with Santorelli in a trade with Toronto. ... Sabres D Josh Gorges will undergo season-ending surgery for an undisclosed lower-body injury while D Mike Weber (upper body) is expected to miss two weeks. With Nikita Zadorov sitting out the game due to disciplinary reasons, Buffalo recalled fellow Ds Jake McCabe and Mark Pysyk from Rochester of the American Hockey League.