Jakob Silfverberg scored twice to help the Anaheim Ducks snap a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
Cam Fowler had two assists, Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick each had a goal and John Gibson made 28 saves for the Ducks.
Jordan Greenway had a goal and an assist, Kyle Okposo scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 32 shots for the Sabres, who have lost two in a row.
It was a slow and tentative start for both sides as neither was able to get close to a shot on goal until Anaheim notched the first one of the game nearly 4 1/2 minutes into the first period.
That gave the home side some life, leading to sustained pressure in the offensive zone before finally capitalizing.
After Mason McTavish forced Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt into a turnover in the neutral zone, the Ducks cycled in the Buffalo zone before Silfverberg, in the slot, tipped Radko Gudas' shot from the blue line past a screened Luukkonen to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead at 5:51.
Carrick made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 3:37 of the second period. He batted Olen Zellweger's shot out of mid-air at the front of the net and over Luukkonen's glove.
Zellweger, a 20-year-old Calgary native making his NHL debut, earned his first point with the assist.
Silfverberg added his second goal of the game 53 seconds later. Buffalo defenseman Connor Clifton fell in the neutral zone and McTavish picked up the loose puck to create a two-on-one, carrying it down low before feeding Silfverberg for a quick strike from in front for a 3-0 lead.
The Ducks outshot the Sabres 19-6 in the second period.
Greenway cut it to 3-1 on the power play at 14:41 of the third period. With Luukkonen pulled for the extra attacker, he deflected Rasmus Dahlin's shot from the blue line.
Luukkonen was again on the bench when Okposo scored from the slot to narrow it to 3-2 at 17:04.
Henrique scored an empty-net goal at 18:51 to seal Anaheim's victory.
More must-reads: