Two first period goals by Filip Forsberg and Yakov Trenin carried Nashville to a win over the Buffalo Sabres.

On Sunday night the Nashville Predators played the second game in their first back to back of the season as they traveled to Buffalo to face the 10-12-2 Sabres. The Predators were coming off of a solid performance but close loss to the New York Rangers Saturday while the Buffalo Sabres lost a tough game 6-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes. Both teams entered Sunday night's game looking for a redemption win. 

On Sunday the Predators recalled Mark Jankowski from Milwaukee and he slotted in with Michael McCarron and Phil Tomasino. Spencer Stastney got the start with defensive partner Luke Schenn while Tyson Barrie was again a healthy scratch for the Predators as was Liam Foudy. Juuse Saros got the start in net. 

This is how the lineup looked for the Sabres. 

The game began with a handful of sloppy shifts before the teams started to settle into the game. It took much of the first half of the opening period to get into the flow of the game, and each team took turns in the offensive zone. Both Saros and Luukkonen came up with stops when pressured early. Luukkonen came up with quick saves when Nashville attacked the net front with a flurry of chances, but at 9:40 Filip Forsberg scored glove side on the Sabres' goalie off of a faceoff win compliments of Ryan O'Reilly. 

Just over a minute later Cole Smith chased a loose puck down and tapped it to Colton Sissons. Sissons put a shot on net that was sent past Luukkonen by a net front Yakov Trenin to give Nashville a 2-0 lead. 

A hook at 14:31 sent Rasmus Dahlin to the penalty box and gave Nashville the first power play of the game. Ryan O'Reilly generated two high danger chances, but Luukkonen came up with goal stealing saves, and the two minutes expired. The first period ended with the Predators leading 14-11 in shots on goal and 2-0 on the scoreboard. 

The Predators came out and pressured offensively right away in the second period outshooting the Sabres 6-1 in the first half of the period. Right at the midway point, a long pass was sent down the ice to Victor Olofsson, but Jeremy Lauzon's contact on the breakaway earned Olofsson a penalty shot at 10:02. Olofsson faked backhand and shot blocker side to beat Saros and make it a one goal game. 

Nashville had to navigate the momentum shift in Buffalo after the Olofsson goal. Saros handled more offensive pressure as the Sabres outshot the Predators as the period wound down. A handful of late chances by Nashville made the final shot count for the second period 12-8 in favor of Buffalo. The teams finished the first forty minutes with a group dust up at the buzzer and a 2-1 score. 

The third period began with Colton Sissons and Peyton Krebs sitting for their respective teams after the post second period scuffle, and the teams played two minutes of four on four. The Predators didn't get their first shot on goal in the third period until five minutes in when Jankowski put the puck on net. 

Forsberg had a breakaway chance seven and a half minutes into the third but missed the net initially and Luukkonen sprawled to cover the loose puck. Just a minute later Jankowski and Tomasino had a two on one chance but also missed the net. The chances gave Nashville a burst of momentum but not a goal. 

Both Luukkonen and Saros handled the shots that made it through to the them as each team pressed for the next goal of the game. Buffalo upped the action in front of Saros as the period wound down. With 2:15 remaining in the game, Luukkonen left the net, and the Sabres added the extra attacker. Nashville was able to clear the zone and force the Sabres to retreat and reload several times to take valuable seconds off the clock. The pressure on Saros lasted until the very final second of the game as he covered a loose puck. The Predators survived to win 2-1, earn two points, and get back in the win column. 

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