Konsta Helenius scored his first NHL goal and added two assists for the Buffalo Sabres, who held on for a 5-3 win against the host Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
It was the second NHL game for Helenius, the No. 14 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, who made his debut Monday at Carolina.
Noah Ostlund scored twice and Peyton Krebs had a goal and an assist for the Sabres, who had had lost two straight. Alex Lyon made 31 saves in his return after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury.
Ryan O’Reilly had two goals and an assist and Filip Forsberg added a goal and two assists for the Predators, who have lost two in a row after winning three straight. Juuse Saros allowed four goals on 18 shots before being replaced by Justus Annunen, who made 13 saves in relief.
Ostlund gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 8:11 of the first period, collecting a rebound in front and putting it past Saros glove side.
He doubled it at 11:45. Helenius’ shot from the right wall redirected toward the back door, hitting Ostlund and landing in the crease before he pushed a backhand by Saros’ right skate.
Helenius made it 3-0 when he ripped a wrist shot from the above the slot that beat Saros high under the bar at 17:24 of the first.
Tage Thompson extended it to 4-0 at 4:20 of the second period, snapping a feed from Alex Tuch and off the post and in from the right circle.
That ended Saros’s night.
O’Reilly cut it to 4-1 on a delayed penalty at 10:09, taking a pass from Forsberg at the left hash mark and putting it through Lyon’s pads.
That gave the Predators life and they tightened the gap at 11:54, with Forsberg wiring a wrist shot past a screened Lyon to narrow it to 4-2.
O’Reilly pulled the Predators within one at 9:30 of the third period. Uncovered coming up the left side, he took a pass from Luke Evangelista and put it under Lyon’s right arm.
Krebs scored an empty-net goal at 18:14 for the 5-3 final.
