Rantanen records four points as Stars shut out Sabres 4-0

Mikko Rantanen finished with a goal and three assists as the Dallas Stars defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 at KeyBank Center on Thursday. Jake Oettinger recorded his second consecutive shutout, while Wyatt Johnston supplied three assists. The result left both teams with 2-2-0 records, according to Yahoo Sports' game statistics.

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Dallas scored once in the opening period and three times in the second, with Rantanen contributing to every goal. Jason Robertson opened the scoring at 9:03 of the first period, assisted by Rantanen and Johnston. Sam Steel then doubled the advantage at 9:36 of the second, with Thomas Harley and Rantanen credited with the assists.

Rantanen added his own goal at 13:57 of the middle period, with Nils Lundkvist and Johnston providing the assists. Roope Hintz completed the scoring on the power play at 15:34, again assisted by Johnston and Rantanen. Those three second-period goals came within a span of five minutes and 58 seconds, turning a one-goal contest into a four-goal Dallas lead.

Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported that the Sabres had early opportunities to take control but could not beat Oettinger. He denied Peyton Krebs after a pass from Tage Thompson and also stopped Zach Benson following a Dallas turnover in the defensive zone. Buffalo remained scoreless through the third period as its two-game winning streak ended.

Special teams added to Buffalo's difficulties. The Sabres failed to score on all three of their power-play opportunities and have now gone without a goal in 13 attempts this season, according to the local report. Coach Lindy Ruff said his team needed to convert its early chances and improve its starts, while maintaining confidence in goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Luukkonen acknowledged that his performance needed to improve and that allowing the deficit to grow had made the third period difficult. Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson also pointed to the cost of repeatedly falling behind. Buffalo has trailed by multiple goals in each of its first four games, Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported, despite winning two of those contests.