BUFFALO, N.Y. — Kyle Okposo and Eric Robinson each had a goal and two assists as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 Monday night.
JJ Peterka, Peyton Krebs, and Rasmus Dahlin also scored, and Connor Clifton had two assists to help the Sabres to their second win in three games. Devon Levi made 21 saves.
Michael Kesselring and Michael Carcone scored, and Karel Vejmelka stopped 33 shots in his first start since Nov. 22 for the Coyotes, who have lost three straight following a five-game win streak.
The Sabres grabbed a 1-0 lead at 2:25 of the first period when Okposo buried a rebound from a shot by Robinson past Vejmelka for his fifth goal.
Kesselring tied it for the Coyotes at 3:01 of the second as he received a pass from Logan Cooley and beat Levi for his first NHL goal.
Robinson, acquired from Columbus last Wednesday, got his first goal with the Sabres at 6:14 of the middle period to make it 2-1.
Krebs made it a two-goal game at 10:52 when he snapped the puck past Vejmelka after a give-and-go with Okposo.
Peterka made it 4-1 with 4:54 left in the second with his 12th when he banked the puck off Vejmelka’s leg pad.
Carcone’s 14th came short-handed with 7:13 left in the third period and cut the Sabres lead to 4-2. Dahlin’s empty-net goal with 1:05 to play capped the scoring.
Sabres forward Alex Tuch returned to practice on Monday morning and will likely return to the lineup this week. Tuch has been out of the lineup since he sustained a lower-body injury Dec. 3 against Nashville.
Coyotes defenseman Sean Durzi did not play and is listed as day-to-day because of a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: At Pittsburgh on Tuesday night to conclude a three-game trip.
Sabres: At Colorado on Wednesday night to open a three-game trip.
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
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