Blues 2, Sabres 1
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Right wingers Troy Brouwer and Robby Fabbri each had a goal and the St. Louis Blues came from behind to beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Monday night.
Goalkeeper Jake Allen made 24 saves for the Blues (14-6-2), who have won their last four trips to First Niagara Center and beaten the Sabres in 18 of the last 20 meetings dating to 1999.
Center David Legwand scored for the Sabres (8-11-2), who are winless in their last five games. Rookie goaltender Linus Ullmark made 24 saves.
The Blues killed off four penalties, including one in the final minute of the third period that the Sabers turned into a six-on-four advantage after pulling the goaltender.
In the last five games, the Blues have allowed one goal on 19 opposing power plays.
Fabbri scored the winning goal with 6:34 left to play. Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester created the scoring chance with a shot from the point that Ullmark could not control. Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges tried to clear the puck, but it bounced off Fabbri, who poked it past a sprawling Ullmark for his third goal of the season.
Brouwer beat Ullmark with a wrist shot from the point to tie the score at 1-1 five minutes into the third period. Defenseman Kevin Shattenirk extended his point streak to six games with an assist on the goal, Brouwer's fifth of the season. Center David Backes had the secondary assist.
Buffalo built a 1-0 lead with 3:15 left in the second period when Legwand gathered the puck from behind the net and backhanded it between Allen's pads for the unassisted goal, which was Legwand's first with the Sabres. Legwand last scored March 19 while playing for Ottawa.
Neither team put a shot on goal through the first seven minutes, but both teams managed eight shots by the end of the scoreless first period.
The Sabres squandered a few early opportunities. They could only get one shot to the net during the period's lone power play, and centers Ryan O'Reilly and Johan Larrson each hit the post on point-blank shots within a three-minute span midway through the first.
NOTES: Blues C Paul Stastny returned to the lineup after missing 16 games with a broken foot. LW Jaden Schwartz (ankle) and C Patrik Berglund (shoulder) remain out. ... Sabres C Zemgus Girgensons missed his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury, and D Mark Pysyk sat out his third straight game with a lower-body injury. ... St. Louis scratched D Joel Edmundson, RW Ryan Reaves and C Scott Gomez. ... Buffalo scratched C Tim Schaller. ... This was the second meeting between the teams in five days. St. Louis defeated Buffalo 3-2 in a shootout on Nov. 19.