Sabres Beat Kings In Shootout For 1st Home Win
BUFFALO, N.Y. (CBSLA.com/AP) — Cody Hodgson scored two goals and Ryan Miller made 43 saves as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in a shootout Tuesday night to avoid matching the worst home start in NHL history.
Matt Moulson and Tyler Ennis scored in the shootout for the Sabres (4-15-1) and Miller stopped both Los Angeles shooters. Buffalo was winless in its first nine home games, one short of the NHL record set by Pittsburgh in 1983-84.
Justin Williams and Dwight King scored in regulation for the Kings (11-7-0), who had won their previous two games.
Despite the loss, Los Angeles was the dominant team and controlled most of the play. The Kings outshot the Sabres 45-17 for the game, holding a 15-4 advantage after one period and 30-7 after two.
Miller impressed in the matchup of US Olympic hopeful goaltenders, though Jonathan Quick wasn't tested much until the third period and left the game with 1:20 to go in overtime with an injury.
Ben Scrivens played the remainder of the game, stopping one of three Sabres in the shootout.
The Kings scored just over a minute into the game when Justin Williams' shot deflected off Sabres defenseman Mark Pysyk, beating Miller low and right.
The Sabres didn't register their first shot until 5:22 into the game, a moment met with one of the many jeers from the crowd.
Buffalo trailed 1-0 after the first period, continuing a trend that's seen the Sabres outscored 27-3 this season in the opening 20 minutes.
Hodgson tied the scored in the second period off a pass from Steve Ott, then gave the Sabres their first lead since Nov. 5 when he tipped home a pass from Ville Leino. The power-play goal was Buffalo's first in its last nine attempts.
King forced overtime with 3:34 to play when he found a rebound in the crease and shot it past Miller. The Sabres nearly found a game-winner with under a minute to play when Ott found a streaking Moulson, who tapped the puck off the outside of the net.
Miller's 30th save was perhaps his finest, sticking his right pad out to deny Mike Richards' look at an open net less than a minute into the third period.
Buffalo continued its winning run against the Kings, improving to 10-1-1 with one tie against them since the start of the 1993-94 season.
Moulson also had two assists.
Matt Greene missed his third straight game for the Kings with an upper body injury.
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