Sabres 4, Avalanche 1
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Center Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon.
Center Jack Eichel, left winger Evander Kane and left winger Marcus Foligno also scored for Buffalo (23-28-6). Goalie Robin Lehner made 34 saves.
Defenseman Erik Johnson scored for the Avalanche (29-26-4). Goalie Calvin Pickard made 16 saves and allowed one goal after replacing Semyon Varlamov less than five minutes into the game.
The Sabres stormed out of the gates to take a commanding lead.
Eichel opened the scoring in highlight-reel fashion at 4:22. The rookie standout raced into the Colorado zone with speed and scored his 17th goal of the season on a hard wrist shot from the middle of the left circle.
Kane made it 2-0 1:40 later on a poor goal allowed by Varlamov. Kane lifted a wrist shot from long range past Varlamov high to the glove side, and the Avalanche pulled Varlamov from the net after the goal.
Reinhart made it 3-0 with 2:46 remaining in the first on a deflection in front of the Colorado net. Former Colorado center Ryan O'Reilly fired a shot from long range and Reinhart redirected the puck for his 17th goal of the year.
Johnson got the Avalanche on the board 3:35 into the second following a nice feed by former Sabre Mikhail Grigorenko. Grigorenko found Johnson near the net to his left and Johnson had an easy backhand tap-in to make it 3-1.
The Avalanche dominated the flow of play over the final 40 minutes, outshooting Buffalo 24-13, but were unable to stage a comeback. Colorado had several golden opportunities, including a 5-on-3 advantage for two full minutes late in the third period, but the Avalanche were repeatedly thwarted by Lehner.
Foligno added an empty-net goal with 1:50 remaining.
NOTES: D Mike Weber, D Carlo Colaiacovo and LW Johan Larsson (lower body) were scratched for the Sabres. ... D Nate Guenin and D Zach Redmond were scratched for the Avalanche. ... Sabres C Tyler Ennis (concussion) remains out. He has missed the past 20 games. Sabres rookie Dan Catenacci also remains out due to a concussion. He was injured in Buffalo's 4-1 loss to Philadelphia on Feb. 11. ... The Avalanche won the previous 10 matchups between the two teams. Lasting longer than 10 years, that is the Sabres' longest drought against any opponent. ... This was the second and final meeting between the two teams this season.