Islanders Fall to Sabres in Shootout Loss

Marcus Foligno scored the tying goal with 2:01 left in regulation and Ryan Miller stopped John Tavares in the final round in the shootout to give the Buffalo Sabres their first win of the season, 4-3 over the Islanders on Tuesday night.

The Sabres were on the verge of their eighth straight loss, which would've set the club's futility mark to start a season, before Foligno rescued them.

Thomas Vanek and Tyler Ennis also scored in the shootout. Miller allowed a goal to Matt Moulson in the first round, but then denied Frans Nielsen and Tavares.

Buffalo erased three one-goal deficits to end its slide. The last came after Tyler Myers kept the puck in the New York zone and got it to Foligno for a screened shot past Evgeni Nabokov.

Moulson had deflected in Tavares' shot during a power play with 11:16 remaining to put the Islanders ahead 3-2.

The Sabres (1-6-1), beaten 2-1 by Minnesota at home Monday, had never lost more than their first seven games. Buffalo started 0-5-2 in 1999 and 0-4-3 in 1990.

Nielsen and Matt Martin also scored for the Islanders (2-2-2), who dropped two on the road before returning home. Nabokov made 31 saves through overtime for New York, which recorded a season-high 44 shots.

The Islanders took a pair of one-goal leads — one in each of the first two periods — but Ennis and Vanek both scored in the second to get Buffalo into a 2-2 tie heading into the third.

Nielsen made it 1-0 in the first when he stopped hard in the left circle and snapped a drive past Miller with 6:49 remaining for his third goal.

The first period has proved troublesome for the Sabres all season as they have been outscored 10-1 in the frame and outshot 118-67. New York had a 16-11 edge in shots in the first and outshot Buffalo 32-24 through 40 minutes.

The Islanders hadn't recorded more than 30 shots in their first five games.

Ennis got Buffalo even at 1 with a fortunate goal 5:24 into the second after a shot by Drew Stafford trickled between Nabokov's pads and landed behind him in the blue paint. Ennis swooped in and slammed the puck in for his first of the season.

But New York needed just 2:44 to go back in front when Martin netted his first. Eric Boulton sent a right-to-left pass in front to Casey Cizikas for a shot that was stopped by Miller and knocked behind the net. Cizikas quickly got to it and flung it into the crease to Martin for a redirect.

The Sabres rallied again to tie it 2-2 with a power-play goal after Tavares was sent off for high-sticking. Cody Hodgson sent a pass from the left circle dot in front to Vanek for a quick redirection past Nabokov. It was the third goal this season for Vanek.
 

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