Sabres 4, Jets 2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Buffalo left winger Marcus Foligno snapped a tie early in the third period with his third goal of the season to help spark the Sabres to a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday afternoon.
Buffalo, which snapped a six-game losing streak, was led by center Sam Reinhart's hat-trick. He scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season in the first period and then adding his 12th into an empty net with 25 seconds left on a play assisted by former Jets winger Evander Kane.
The winning goal came off a juicy rebound surrendered by Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who kicked out a long shot from right winger Brian Gionti right to Foligno at the 4:12 mark of the final period.
Right winger Blake Wheeler fired his 11th and center Mathieu Perreault scored his seventh for the Jets.
Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark was the busier of the two netminders. He was pressed to make 42 saves, while Hellebuyck made 24 stops.
It was the first meeting between the two clubs since Kane, defenseman Zach Bogosian and the rights to goalie Jason Kasdorf were dealt to Buffalo last February in exchange for defenseman Tyler Myers, right winger Drew Stafford, right winger Joel Armia, junior star forward Brendan Lemieux and a 2015 first-round pick (center Jack Roslovic, Miami University).
Many Jets fans pledged on social media to give Kane a welcome as chilly as Winnipeg's weekend weather -- the temperature outside was -11 F just prior to the puck drop -- and they stuck to their word. He received a loud chorus of boos during the pregame skate Sunday, but those quickly turned to cheers when the speedy left winger stepped on a puck and fell on the familiar MST Centre rink.
The derision didn't end there. Each time he touched the puck, Winnipeg fans howled their displeasure, even chanting "Kane, you (are terrible)," "Best trade ever" and "Stafford's better" a couple of times. He also took a heavy body check from center Adam Lowry early in the first period and a crushing open-ice hit from defenseman Dustin Byfuglien midway through the second.
Reinhart opened the scoring just 97 seconds into the game when his hard wrist shot beat Hellebuyck clean, high to the glove side. But less than four minutes later, Wheeler deflected a shot from center Bryan Little past Ullmark to knot the game 1-1.
Kane drew a penalty when he was grabbed and tossed to the ice by blueliner Tyler Myers, and Reinhart capitalized with his second goal of the period at 14:29 to give the Sabres a narrow lead after one period.
The Jets pulled even just 56 seconds into the middle frame on Perreault's power-play marker when he ripped in a rebound off a Little drive. Late in the period, Perreault got tangled up with one of the Sabres, limped off the ice and continued down the hallway to the dressing room, but he returned for the third period.
Winnipeg hosts the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, the second of a three-game home stand. The club actually plays the next eight of its next nine at the MST Centre, including five against Central Division rivals.
The Sabres have very little time to lick their wounds. The club heads about seven hours south to Saint Paul, Minn., to play the Wild on Monday night.
NOTES: Winnipeg C Mark Scheifele (lower body) was listed as a game-time decision Sunday but did not dress. RW Anthony Peluso played in his absence, while D Paul Postma and D Adam Pardy were healthy scratches. ... C Tyler Ennis (upper body) and LW Nicolas Deslauriers (upper body) were sidelined for the visitors, while D Carlo Colaiacovo was a healthy scratch. ... The Sabres entered the game with just four victories (4-10-1) since Dec. 5. ... Buffalo C David Legwand is just four games shy of 1,100 for his NHL career. ... The Jets went 6-1-0 in their seven home games in December. ... Winnipeg D Toby Enstrom entered the game with a plus-17 rating, which led the Jets and placed him in a tie for sixth in the league.