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National Hockey League
Buffalo 4, Dallas 1
When: 8:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 16, 2020
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Referees: Dan O'Halloran, Furman South
Linesmen: Travis Gawryletz, Bryan Pancich
Attendance: 18532

Buffalo's Linus Ullmark stopped 28 shots in his first win over Dallas, Jack Eichel extended the NHL's longest active point streak and the Sabres beat the host Stars 4-1 on Thursday night.

Jimmy Vesey, Rasmus Dahlin, Michael Frolik and Zemgus Girgensons netted goals, and Kyle Okposo contributed two assists.

Eichel assisted on Vesey's tally to extend his point streak to nine games. The streak is the longest current one in the NHL after Toronto's Mitchell Marner was held pointless in the Maple Leafs' 2-1 shootout loss to Calgary.

Ullmark was victorious for the first time in four tries against Dallas, and Buffalo moved to just 3-8-0 in its last 11 against the Stars. The victory was Buffalo's third straight and first in Dallas since Jan. 15, 2009.

Jamie Benn notched a goal, and playing in his 400th career NHL game, No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop recorded 18 saves for the Stars.

Corey Perry returned for Dallas after serving the final match of his five-game suspension for elbowing Nashville's Ryan Ellis in the 2020 NHL Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl.

Buffalo broke the ice by scoring 7:01 into the first period when Vesey outworked Jason Dickinson along the half boards, forcing a turnover in the Sabres' offensive end, and Sam Reinhart fed the puck back through the crease to Vesey for his sixth goal.

Dallas captain Benn was at it in the second period, tying the contest at 1 by snaring a forceful rebound off the end boards. Miro Heiskanen's hard shot missed to the right of Ullmark's net and wound up bouncing out to Benn's forehand on the left side. He easily potted his 12th goal with the Buffalo netminder out of position over on the far post at 4:28.

On just the Sabres' third shot of the middle frame, Curtis Lazar set up a perfect screen in front of Bishop, and Dahlin wristed in his third goal at 16:10 to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

Dallas played with five defensemen in the third as Heiskanen was ruled out, but Buffalo's 28th-ranked penalty kill unit denied the tying goal inside the final five minutes.

Frolik scored a short-handed goal into an empty net -- his first tally in five games since joining the Sabres -- at 17:44, and Girgensons added another empty-netter at 19:50 for the final margin.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Buffalo   Dallas
Kyle Okposo 2 Points Jamie Benn 1
Rasmus Dahlin 1 Goals Jamie Benn 1
Kyle Okposo 2 Assists Miro Heiskanen 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
Michael Frolik 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Linus Ullmark .966 Save Percentage Ben Bishop .900
Linus Ullmark 28 Saves Ben Bishop 18
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Buffalo 22 4 0-2 4-4 8 30
Dallas 29 1 0-4 2-2 4 33
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Stars have a W/L % of .643 after a win and .474 after a loss.
  • Buffalo will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Sabres have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .423 after a loss.