Michael Houser stopped 34 shots in his NHL debut, Sam Reinhart scored twice in Buffalo’s three-goal third period and the Sabres beat the playoff-bound New York Islanders 4-2 on Monday night.
Tage Thompson and Rasmund Asplund also scored for Buffalo, which trailed 2-0 early in the second period.
Houser spent the past 8 1/2 seasons in the minor leagues. It was his first game since March 7, 2020, with Cincinnati of the ECHL.
Adam Pelech and Oliver Wahlstrom scored for the Islanders. Semyon Varlamov, coming off three straight shutouts, finished with 36 saves.
The Islanders fell to fourth place in the Eastern Division —one point behind Boston, which beat New Jersey 3-0. The Bruins also have a game in-hand on the Islanders.
The teams finish their season series Tuesday night in Buffalo.
Michael Houser APThompson’s power-play goal got the Sabres on the scoreboard with 5:56 left in the second period and ended Varlamov’s shutout streak at 248 minutes.
Asplund tied the score with 8:35 remaining in the third.
Reinhart gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead with 4:04 left and sealed the win with an empty-netter, his career high-tying 25th, with 52 seconds to go.
