BUFFALO — Utah Mammoth answered an early Buffalo power-play strike with four straight goals Saturday, skating out of KeyBank Center with a 4-1 win over the Sabres.
Anders Lee, Kailer Yamamoto and John Marino each finished with a goal and an assist for Utah, while Nick Schmaltz continued his fast start with another goal. Barrett Hayton set up two markers, and Karel Vejmelka turned aside 23 shots.
Quick facts
- Utah improved to 4-2-0 with its fourth consecutive goal after trailing 1-0.
- Buffalo fell to 2-3-0 and has dropped two straight games.
- Tage Thompson scored Buffalo’s first power-play goal of the season after the club began 0-for-13 with the extra skater.
- Schmaltz has six goals through six games.
- Colten Ellis made 26 saves for the Sabres.
Thompson gave Buffalo the jump at 8:00 of the opening period. The Sabres forward carried the puck all the way from his own zone to the lower right circle, then beat Vejmelka short side with a wrist shot.
The lead lasted just over two minutes. Hayton grabbed a rebound in the left circle and sent a quick pass into the crease, where Yamamoto arrived at the net front for the tying tap-in at 10:12.
Utah took control in the second period, beginning with its own power-play conversion. Logan Cooley threaded a pass across the blue paint to Schmaltz, who finished from the left post at 15:23 for a 2-1 lead.
Lee added breathing room 2:01 later, working into the low slot and lifting a backhand past Ellis to make it 3-1.
Marino put the game further out of reach early in the third. On another Utah power play, the defenseman fired a point slap shot through Ellis’ legs at 1:45 to complete the scoring.
Vejmelka held Buffalo off the board the rest of the way, while Utah’s attack made its finishing chances count after the first-period deficit. The Mammoth leave Buffalo at 4-2-0; the Sabres remain at 2-3-0 after another quiet finish.
