Jets push past Sabres late to end three-game skid

Blake Wheeler scored the go-ahead goal at 16:05 of the third period as the Winnipeg Jets snapped a season-worst three-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory against the host Buffalo Sabres on Sunday afternoon. Andrew Copp also scored and Mark Scheifele added an empty-netter for the Jets, who salvaged the finale of their three-game trip. Winnipeg had been outscored 13-6 during its skid, including a 5-2 defeat Saturday at Ottawa.

Wheeler and Scheifele each had a goal and an assist and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves. Jack Eichel scored the lone goal for the Sabres, who were coming off a 3-1 home victory against Detroit on Saturday. Goalie Carter Hutton stopped 26 of 28 shots.

Stationed at the top of the crease on the winner, Wheeler kept his stick on the ice and took a perfect feed from Josh Morrissey, not even having to move his blade to redirect the puck into the far side of the net. Scheifele also got an assist. Copp opened the scoring with a short-handed goal at 3:01 of the second period.

Teammate Bryan Little backhanded the puck off the glass in an attempt to get it out of the Jets' defensive zone, with the puck bouncing past a Buffalo defenseman at the point. Copp sped out of the zone and skated down the left wing with the puck before roofing a shot over Hutton's glove hand from the faceoff circle. The Sabres tied it at 12:01 of the second, just three seconds after their own power play expired. Eichel gathered the puck near the goal line and passed back to Rasmus Dahlin at the point. Dahlin immediately returned the puck to Eichel, who had made his way to the right faceoff circle. Eichel's hard wrist shot beat Hellebuyck to the far post. Jeff Skinner also was credited with an assist on the goal.

Both goalies made highlight-reel stops late in the first period to keep it scoreless. With 6:29 left, Skinner snapped a quick shot off a faceoff that went off Hellebuyck's pads and trickled behind him, but the goalie was able to sprawl backward to cover the puck.

With 4:20 left in the first, Hutton stopped a short-handed breakaway by Adam Lowry and also the follow-up by Brandon Tanev. --Field Level Media

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