In Glendale, the visiting Buffalo Sabres scored twice in the opening frame on goals from Jeff Skinner and Marcus Johansson for a 2-0 lead.
“They’ve got some skill guys and they got a little bit of momentum and we weren’t able to shut it down,” Skinner said. “It’s tough, especially at this time of the year and where we are [in the standings]. We’ve got to regroup.”
Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal for the Coyotes – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
They then sat back for the rest of the game as the Arizona Coyotes scored five unanswered goals in a 5-2 decision.
“We didn’t panic, we stayed the course and didn’t try to turn it into a solo effort, and we started to score some timely goals,” the Coyotes’ Jason Demers said. “We played the way we can play our game, and when we play that game we’re hard to beat.”
Antti Raanta settled down after the opening frame and made 25 saves to get the win.
Clayton Keller struck twice and had three points on the night for the Coyotes.
“We lost our game for five or six minutes there, and it was hard to get it back,” Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger said.
Jordan Oesterle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Phil Kessel added single markers for the Coyotes.
“After those two goals went in we got the urgency we needed,” Oesterle said.
[WATCH: All Sabres vs. Coyotes highlights]
Jonas Johansson made 26 saves in the loss.
“We’re 0-3 and no points (on four-game roadie), so there’s no real good moments,” Jack Eichel said. “The big picture [is bad], obviously. You come to win every game and you lose three and that’s not what you want to do.”
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