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Sabres pressing for Northeast title
Source: Agencies |
March 31, 2010, Wednesday
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RYAN Miller made 40 saves in a brilliant return for the Buffalo Sabres as they defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Monday.
Tyler Myers, Paul Gaustad and Tim Kennedy scored for the Northeast Division-leading team which has won six of its last seven games.
Miller, who sat out during Buffalo's 7-1 rout of Tampa Bay on Saturday, helped the Sabres (42-23-10) move within a point of the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Eastern Conference.
"We knew they'd come out hard. They are a desperate team," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff told reporters. "If you're in the right place, you can create a lot of pressure and I think they did."
David Krejci gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead in the first period before Buffalo tallied three in a row to take control.
Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg scored the last at 14:23 in the third for Boston (34-29-12) which lies eighth in the East.
The Bruins, who had won three of their previous four, attacked with aggression but could not get past Miller and missed their chance to get four points clear of ninth-placed Atlanta.
Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas started but was pulled after allowing three goals in 14 shots. Tuukka Rask came on in the second period and settled the team with 19 saves.
The Sabres, Northeast Division champions in 2007, were putting out fires early and Miller had to stop a penalty shot from Marco Sturm just three minutes into the game.
After Krejci's opening goal, Myers quickly swung the momentum back to the Sabres when he scored two minutes later.
"That was a big and smart play," Miller said.
"They like to block a lot and he just took a shot before they could get established in front and knock it down and I don't think Thomas really had a chance on that one.
"So, really smart play to do it, and from there we did a nice job of getting shots to the net."
In Atlanta, Carolina goalie Cam Ward made a brilliant return after being out nearly two months and Erik Cole scored a decisive goal with 4:11 left as the Hurricanes beat the Thrashers 4-1 to deal a blow to Atlanta's playoff hopes.
Jussi Jokinen scored twice for Carolina, including an empty-net goal after the desperate Thrashers pulled Johan Hedberg for an extra skater with more than 2 minutes left. Atlanta missed a chance to pull even with Boston for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
In Sunrise, Florida, Francis Bouillon scored a minute into overtime to lift the Nashville Predators 3-2 over the Panthers.
David Legwand and Patric Hornqvist also scored for Nashville. Keith Ballard and Stephen Weiss had third-period goals for Florida, which lost its third straight game. Scott Clemmensen stopped 22 shots for the Panthers and Dan Ellis made 27 saves for the Predators.
Clemmensen got the start in favor of Tomas Vokoun, Nashville's former goalie, who has won just one of his past seven games.
In Anaheim, Nick Bonino scored his first NHL goal with an assist from 600-goal scorer Teemu Selanne, and Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves in the Ducks' 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars.
In St Paul, Martin Havlat scored a power-play goal in the third period to guide the Minnesota Wild 3-2 past the Kings.
Tyler Myers, Paul Gaustad and Tim Kennedy scored for the Northeast Division-leading team which has won six of its last seven games.
Miller, who sat out during Buffalo's 7-1 rout of Tampa Bay on Saturday, helped the Sabres (42-23-10) move within a point of the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Eastern Conference.
"We knew they'd come out hard. They are a desperate team," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff told reporters. "If you're in the right place, you can create a lot of pressure and I think they did."
David Krejci gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead in the first period before Buffalo tallied three in a row to take control.
Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg scored the last at 14:23 in the third for Boston (34-29-12) which lies eighth in the East.
The Bruins, who had won three of their previous four, attacked with aggression but could not get past Miller and missed their chance to get four points clear of ninth-placed Atlanta.
Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas started but was pulled after allowing three goals in 14 shots. Tuukka Rask came on in the second period and settled the team with 19 saves.
The Sabres, Northeast Division champions in 2007, were putting out fires early and Miller had to stop a penalty shot from Marco Sturm just three minutes into the game.
After Krejci's opening goal, Myers quickly swung the momentum back to the Sabres when he scored two minutes later.
"That was a big and smart play," Miller said.
"They like to block a lot and he just took a shot before they could get established in front and knock it down and I don't think Thomas really had a chance on that one.
"So, really smart play to do it, and from there we did a nice job of getting shots to the net."
In Atlanta, Carolina goalie Cam Ward made a brilliant return after being out nearly two months and Erik Cole scored a decisive goal with 4:11 left as the Hurricanes beat the Thrashers 4-1 to deal a blow to Atlanta's playoff hopes.
Jussi Jokinen scored twice for Carolina, including an empty-net goal after the desperate Thrashers pulled Johan Hedberg for an extra skater with more than 2 minutes left. Atlanta missed a chance to pull even with Boston for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
In Sunrise, Florida, Francis Bouillon scored a minute into overtime to lift the Nashville Predators 3-2 over the Panthers.
David Legwand and Patric Hornqvist also scored for Nashville. Keith Ballard and Stephen Weiss had third-period goals for Florida, which lost its third straight game. Scott Clemmensen stopped 22 shots for the Panthers and Dan Ellis made 27 saves for the Predators.
Clemmensen got the start in favor of Tomas Vokoun, Nashville's former goalie, who has won just one of his past seven games.
In Anaheim, Nick Bonino scored his first NHL goal with an assist from 600-goal scorer Teemu Selanne, and Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves in the Ducks' 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars.
In St Paul, Martin Havlat scored a power-play goal in the third period to guide the Minnesota Wild 3-2 past the Kings.
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