Buffalo Sabres continue rebound with 2-1 win over New York Islanders -NHL Update
After a spectacular 6-2 victory against Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres kept rolling with the momentum as they edged New York Islanders, 2-1, for a second straight win on Tuesday night, February 21, 2012, at the sold-out First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.
Buffalo’s veteran goalie, Ryan Miller, kept his eyes on the prize as he blocked 30 of 31 shots throughout the contest for a near shutout, but still managed to keep New York out despite all their attempts.
Kevin Poulin was in the Islanders net and was outshot with 37 shots but still had a good night with 35 saves.
Tyler Myers kicked off the scoring with his sixth of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season in the opening minutes of round-one as Derek Roy found the player open in front of the New York net to take a quick lead.
Thomas Vanek added the second straight of the night and back-to-back for the Buffalo Sabres to extend the lead to a dominating 2-0 entering the third and final period of regulation.
The final minutes of the second period got intense as Matt Martin and Mike Weber exchanged fists with less than three minutes remaining, giving both players a five minute major which would carry over into the final period.
Surprisingly, there were no penalties in the third 20 minute round but New York still managed to grab the goal at 14:52, putting Buffalo on the edge in order to hold on to their lead and take the match, which they were lucky at doing.
Buffalo at the moment sits at number 12 in the Eastern Conference with 59 points. They are still at least four games away from taking a spot in the playoff division, but they would have to win back-to-back without a single loss now, which might seem impossible seeing their upcoming competition.
Sabres will be facing the confused Boston Bruins team in their next contest on Friday, which just might be the time that the defending Stanley Cup champions rebound to the demise of Buffalo.
New York Islanders on the other hand, have the next against New York Rangers on the same day.
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