Sabres 6, Canucks 3
Torrey Mitchell snapped a 28-game drought with a pair of goals, including the go-ahead tally with 7:17 left in the third period, as Buffalo toppled visiting Vancouver.
Captain Brian Gionta recorded a goal and two assists while Chris Stewart scored one and set up another for the Sabres, who have won back-to-back games for the first time since mid-December. Defenseman Andrej Meszaros and Brian Flynn also scored, Matt Moulson contributed two assists and Michal Neuvirth turned aside 28 shots for Buffalo.
Shawn Matthias, Jannik Hansen and Daniel Sedin scored while defenseman Dan Hamhuis registered two assists for the Canucks, who finished their road trip with a 3-2-0 record. Eddie Lack made 18 saves for the Canucks in his second straight start since Ryan Miller went down with an injury.
Mitchell finished a give-and-go with Moulson 13:07 into the game to open the scoring, but Matthias tied it 62 seconds later with a shot from the right faceoff circle. Hansen’s screen shot from the high slot 5:42 into the second gave the Canucks the lead before Stewart evened things on a breakaway at 8:59.
Meszaros put Buffalo in front with a blast 4:46 into the third and Sedin whipped a wrist shot from the slot past Neuvirth on the glove side 2:41 later to again even the contest. Mitchell was all alone at the bottom of the left circle to sweep in a rebound while Flynn and Gionta added late tallies to seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Daniel and captain Henrik Sedin (assist) extended their respective point streaks to six games. … The Sabres placed C Zemgus Girgensons (foot) on injured reserve and scratched leading scorer Tyler Ennis (lower body) as both were injured Tuesday against Columbus. … Matthias set a career high with his 15th goal, topping the 14 he had with Florida in 2012-13. … Buffalo D Zach Bogosian played his 400th NHL contest.