By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Pheonix Copley and the Kings were locked in a scoreless tussle for two periods, then it all unraveled.

Copley allowed six goals on 16 shots in the final frame, including a pair 13 seconds apart, and the Buffalo Sabres ended up cruising to a 6-0 victory over the Kings on Tuesday night.

Tage Thompson scored two power-play goals, Victor Olofsson and JJ Peterka scored goals 13 seconds apart and Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs also scored during the Sabres’ six-goal third-period outburst. Dylan Cozens had three assists and Craig Anderson stopped 40 shots as the Sabres improved to 6-3-2 in their past 11 since snapping an eight-game skid.

The shutout was Anderson’s first in two seasons since joining the Sabres, and the 43rd of his career. The 41-year-old’s last shutout came when he played for Ottawa, as he stopped 35 shots in a 4-0 win over Buffalo on March 26, 2019.

Copley stopped 25 shots in his third start since being called up from the minors following Cal Petersen’s demotion on Dec. 1. The Kings dropped to 5-6-4 in their past 15 and have allowed four or more goals six times in their past 11.

Thompson’s two goals pushed his total to 23 on the season. He entered the day third in the NHL scoring race.

Thompson opened the scoring 1:21 into the third and two seconds after Carl Grundstrom was penalized for slashing to give Buffalo a brief two-man advantage. Cozens beat Kings captain Anze Kopitar on the faceoff to the left of the net and drew the puck back to Thompson, who snapped in a shot inside the left post from the high slot.

The rout was on when Olofsson one-timed in Rasmus Asplund’s centering pass to make it 2-0 at the 9:56 mark, followed by Peterka completing a give-and-go on a 2-on-1 rush with Jack Quinn.

The Kings were intent on cleaning up their defensive play, and neutralizing the NHL’s second-best scoring offense, after a sloppy outing in a 6-5 overtime loss at Columbus on Sunday. They spent much of the first two periods with three men back, limiting the Sabres to just three shots in the first period.

Despite being out-shot 16-3 in the first period, the Sabres did have one of the best scoring chances when Copley kicked out his left pad to stop Tuch’s tap-in attempt eight minutes in. The Sabres mustered 12 shots in the second period but failed to score, despite having a three-to-one edge in power-play chances.

The Kings’ best scoring chance through 40 minutes came late in the first period, when Gabe Vilardi was set up alone to the left of the net but fanned on a shot that dribbled behind Anderson and rolled through the crease.

LINEUPS

Kings: Defenseman Drew Doughty returned after missing one game with a lower-body injury. He replaced Alex Elder, who was a healthy scratch.

Sabres: Left wing Jeff Skinner served his second game of a three-game suspension for cross-checking Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel. … Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin has resumed skating on his own and is expected to be cleared for practice soon. He’s missed seven games with a lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

The Kings close their six-game road trip Thursday night against the Boston Bruins.

More to come on this story.