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BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Craig Anderson stopped 30 shots to win his 300th career game and Buffalo defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 in a game during which former Sabres captain Jack Eichel was mostly booed Thursday night in his first visit to his former home.
Victor Olofsson scored the go-ahead goal on the power play with 3:44 remaining.
And charging up Sabres fans even further was Buffalo’s opening goal being scored by Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch sealing the win by scoring into an empty net with 36 seconds remaining. Both players were acquired in the trade that sent Eichel to Vegas on Nov. 4.
Buffalo snapped a two-game skid and won for just the third time in nine games, with Anderson becoming the 39th goalie to reach 300 wins. From Illinois, he became the sixth U.S. goalie to reach the milestone, and is one behind former New York Rangers star Mike Richter.
Anderson’s best stop came five minutes into the third period when he held his position to stop Zach Whitecloud’s deflection in front. The 19-year veteran also got his glove down to stop William Carrier set up alone in the slot 12 minutes into the second period.
Laurent Brossoit stopped 21 shots for Vegas in getting the start in place of Robin Lehner, who was sent home to have a lower-body injury evaluated further. Vegas has lost two straight and dropped to 4-7-1 in its past 12.
Krebs scored 7:53 into the game when he drove up the right wing and tipped Vinnie Hinostroza’s cross-ice pass over Brossoit.
Eichel was limited to two shots on goal in a game he was dogged by boos each time he stepped on the ice. It was the 25-year-old’s first game in Buffalo since Feb. 28, 2021, which came eight days before he was sustained a herniated disk in a 5-2 loss on Long Island.
How to treat the injury — the Sabres favored fusion surgery while Eichel preferred an artificial disk replacement procedure — led to an eight-month stalemate between the player and the Sabres, which eventually forced his trade. The game against Buffalo was Eichel’s 11th since having the replacement procedure shortly after landing in Vegas.
Eichel’s presence attracted what appeared to be the largest turnout of the season in Buffalo with an attendance of 12, 437.
Olofsson scored with 17 seconds left in Jonathan Marchessault’s slashing penalty. Set up in the left circle by Kyle Okposo’s pass through the middle, Olofsson snapped a shot to beat Brossoit high on the short side.
Krebs opened the scoring by tipping in Vinnie Hinostroza’s cross-ice pass 7:53 into the game, and less than a minute after the Sabres played a video welcoming back Eichel. The crowd booed when the video of Eichel’s scoring highlights began, but then cheered when officials from Buffalo’s Roswell Park Cancer Center thanked Eichel for his charitable contributions.
Hutton tied it at 1 with 7:59 remaining in regulation when his snap shot from the right point floated through a crowd and banked in off the crossbar.
Once considered the Sabres' savior after being selected with the second pick in the 2015 draft, Eichel was welcomed with derision after a six-year tenure during which Buffalo failed to make the playoffs.
Eichel was booed incessantly. It began during the pre-game warmups when he was booed in being the last player off the ice. It continued when he was listed in the starting lineup. And it reached a loud crescendo when Eichel lined up for the opening faceoff, and the boos turned to jeers when he turned over the puck in the neutral zone.
During the pre-game warmup, fans placed signs along the glass in the Vegas end welcoming Eichel. One read, “Thank you, Jack, best of luck in Vegas.” Others were more negative, with one reading, “Thanks for nothing Eichel. Boo,” and another with, “Eichel #9. I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.” One fan behind the benches held up a more diplomatic sign, which read, “Hey, Jack. We tried.”
INJURY UPDATES
Golden Knights: Coach Pete DeBoer said Lehner’s injury was not related to the one which sidelined the goalie for five games late last month. ... RW Reilly Smith did not play due to an undisclosed injury.
Sabres: D Henri Jokiharju returned after missing six games with a lower-body injury. ... C Rasmus Asplund did not return after sustaining a lower-body injury in the first period.
UP NEXT
Golden Knights: Play at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night in the third stop of a four-game road trip.
Sabres: Are the home team in facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL’s outdoor Heritage Classic at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, on Sunday.
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