The Buffalo Sabres hung on for a 4-2 win against the Dallas Stars Tuesday night.

After the Buffalo Sabres jumped out to a 3-0 lead with the help of two quick second period goals, the Dallas Stars mounted a third period comeback but came up just short in a 4-2 loss Tuesday.

Peyton Krebs and Ryan McLeod put Buffalo ahead for good with two goals in 83 seconds in the second period, and Uko Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves to preserve the Sabres win. Thomas Harley and Tyler Seguin scored with the goalie pulled late in the third period, but Alex Tuch finished Dallas off with an empty net goal with 11 seconds left in the game.

The Stars were unable to finish off the late comeback and recorded their second loss of the season. Last season, Dallas had the best road record in the NHL, but both of their losses this year have been on the road. 

The first period was a frustrating one for the Stars, as they could not get anything past a strong Luukkonen, and Jake Oettinger was busy making good saves on the other end of the ice. The Stars had two power-plays and were unable to convert, which is becoming a theme early this season. To make matters worse, Dallas did not even record one shot on goal during those four minutes on the man advantage. They spent a lot of their time cycling the puck but couldn't get anything at the net. 

The Stars were on a 0-16 drought before last game when Matt Duchene scored two seconds in to a third period power play opportunity against Edmonton. The hope was that the Stars power-play struggles were behind them, but that might have been more related to the Oilers being the worst penalty kill unit in the league.

Shortly into the second period and the game still scoreless, the Stars found themselves on yet another power-play but this one was not any less frustrating than the first two. They only recorded one shot on goal this time, but those penalty kills kept giving Buffalo momentum and it was only a matter of time before Dallas would pay for being unable to cash in. 

The second half of the period was dictated by the Sabres after finally breaking open the scoring. Krebs whacked a puck out of mid-air behind Oettinger on a nifty deflection to go up 1-0. A little over a minute later, Ryan McLeod scored on consecutive shots to make it 2-0 during a quick-developing 2-on-1. 

The Sabres made quick work in the third period, with Tage Thompson scoring to push it to 3-0 about four minutes into the period. The Stars tried to make a push to get something going for the remainder of the third, but Luukkonen frustrated the Stars shooters with save after save.

With about six minutes left in the period, the Stars pulled Oettinger and added an extra attacker. A minute later, Harley finally got the Stars on the board with a shot that made it through traffic, breaking Luukkonen's shutout bid. Harley, a Syracuse, NY native, scored his first goal of the season in the closest NHL rink to his hometown, making it even more special.

The Stars quickly got Oettinger back off the ice again and got a flash of life after Seguin cleaned up a rebound right in front of the net to make it a one goal game. Dallas had a little more than two minutes to try to tie up the game, but it was too little and too late. Tuch put the dagger in the game with an empty net goal, and the Stars lost 4-2.

It was a frustrating loss for the Stars, but the comeback attempt shows a trait that has been evident throughout head coach Pete DeBoer's tenure in Dallas. No matter the score and no matter the time, the Stars will never give up and are never fully out of it.

However, the power-play is starting to become a glaring issue. It is still the first month of the season, but with so many offensive weapons, Dallas should not be this bad on the power play. Something has to give soon, or this problem is in danger of lingering into more important parts of the season. 

This should have been a game the Stars had a good chance to win, but no two points are guaranteed in the NHL. With the Winnipeg Jets extending their win streak to six games to open the season, Dallas already finds themselves chasing the front-runner in the Central Division.

The Stars are right back at it Thursday night in Boston to take on the Bruins, who gave the Nashville Predators their first win of the season Tuesday.

Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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