Buffalo Sabres snap five-game losing streak taking down New Jersey Devils 2-1 in shootout-NHL Update
Buffalo is sitting at number 14 in the Eastern Conference, which is certainly one of the worst places to be in this time of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, but showed some hope as the Sabres downed New Jersey Devils, 2-1, in a
shootout to snap their five-game losing streak at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, United States.
The Tuesday night game on January 24, 2012, did not only mark their first win in their past six contests but also snapped their away game struggle which was at 12 games in a row.
Ryan Miller faced double the amount of shots on his net (28) as compared to his counterpart in the New Jersey defensive end, Martin Brodeur, who faced 14 shots and fell short on one along with two straight in the decisive shootout.
"It's been a while since I've been able to grind one out", Miller told NHL.com. "I just feel like everything that could have gone wrong this year, has been going wrong. That was a game where a lot of things went right … my job is to clean up the mistakes,
so it was nice to be there when they had their chances".
Jordan Leopold kicked off the scoring with his eighth goal of the regular season with less than four minutes remaining in the opening period.
Buffalo had a golden opportunity right into the matchup as Alexei Ponikarovsky was booked for tripping with a minor penalty in the opening two minutes of the first, but failed to capitalise on the added man advantage.
Patrik Elias fired off his 18th during a power play opportunity of their own as Buffalo’s, Derek Roy, was booked for his second straight penalty within three minutes of the second period.
As the following third period remained scoreless, as well as the overtime extension, both teams were forced into the shootout decider.
Ilya Kovalchuk capitalised on New Jersey’s first attempt but the team failed on all their remaining chances as Jason Pominville levelled the shootout on their final attempt and Nathan Gerbe made the game-winner in the extension.
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