BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ben Bishop made 35 saves for his third straight shutout, and the Dallas Stars beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Bishop extended his career-best shutout streak to 204 minutes, 20 seconds. It’s the second-longest run for a Stars goaltender behind Ed Belfour’s streak of 219 minutes, 26 seconds that ran from Nov. 17-24, 2000. He is the third goaltender in franchise history with three consecutive shutouts.
Rookie Roope Hintz scored twice for Dallas in the opener of a two-game trip. The Stars have won five of six and remain on top of the Western Conference wild-card standings with 77 points.
Buffalo played without captain Jack Eichel, who began serving a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Colorado’s Carl Soderberg.
Linus Ullmark stopped 25 shots for the Sabres, who have lost five in a row.
The Stars took a 1-0 lead when Hintz scored midway through the second period. Jason Dickinson’s shot from the point bounced to the right side of the net, where Hintz skated in and lifted a shot over Ullmark’s shoulder.
Hintz got his seventh of the season on a power play with 6:48 remaining in the second. His wrist shot from outside the right circle beat Ullmark to the far post.
Dallas could not convert on a pair of power plays during the scoreless first period. The Stars’ best scoring chance was thwarted when Ullmark made a gliding glove save on a point-blank one-timer from Jamie Benn a little more than seven minutes into the game.
NOTES: Bishop has won his last 12 starts against Buffalo, the second-longest active streak against a single opponent in the NHL. In addition to Bishop and Balfour, Cesare Maniago had three straight shutouts for the Minnesota North Stars from Dec. 13-16, 1967. … Stars F Blake Comeau recorded his 300th career point on the first goal by Hintz. … Sabres F Alexander Nylander made his season debut after being called up from the minors following Eichel’s suspension. Nylander was Buffalo’s first-round pick in the 2016 draft. … Stars F Valeri Nichushkin entered the lineup in place of Brett Ritchie and D Jamie Oleksiak took Taylor Fedun’s spot. Coach Jim Montgomery said the moves were made to help keep players fresh for the busy week.
UP NEXT
Stars: Conclude road trip Thursday at Minnesota.
Sabres: Host Pittsburgh on Thursday.
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Jonah Bronstein, The Associated Press
