J.T. Compher broke a tie on a wrist shot with 8:06 remaining, Martin Kaut scored his first NHL goal and the Colorado Avalanche won their fourth consecutive game, beating the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Wednesday night in Denver.
Gabriel Landeskog also scored to help the Avalanche jump into second place in the Central Division.
Pavel Francouz was sharp in stopping 31 shots, including several sprawling saves in the closing minute after the Sabres pulled their goalie. Francouz was recently named the league's first star for the week.
Zemgus Girgensons and Curtis Lazar scored for the Sabres, who have dropped five straight to Colorado. Wayne Simmonds made his Buffalo debut after being acquired from the New Jersey Devils.
Tyson Jost set up the decisive goal by winning a tussle for the puck behind the net and dishing it over to Joonas Donskoi, who then fed it to a wide-open Compher in front. It was Compher's 10th goal of the season.
Carter Hutton had 31 saves for Buffalo.
Etc.
St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester has been ruled out from returning to play in the regular season or in the playoffs. He collapsed on the bench during a game at Anaheim on Feb. 11 and had a cardioverter defibrillator implanted into his chest. Bouwmeester, 36, said he hadn't thought about his future in hockey.
. . . Toronto defenseman Jake Muzzin will be out about four weeks with a broken hand. He has six goals and 17 assists in 53 games.
