Rob Niedermayer leads Buffalo Sabres to 8-2 win over Atlanta Thrashers
Rob Niedermayer scored two goals, as the Buffalo Sabres humbled the Atlanta Thrashers 8-2, at the HSBC Arena on Saturday night.
Brad Boyes and Tyler Ennis each lit the lamp, while Mark Mancari netted a goal and had two assists for Buffalo, who now have 78 points and improved to 20-10-4 for the season. Jason Pominville, Nathan Gerbe and Tim Connolly all also notched a goal and had
an assist, while Ryan Miller turned away 28 shots to seal the win.
Chris Thorburn and Alexander Burmistrov both found the net for Atlanta, who are now placed 11th in the Eastern Conference. Ondrej Pavelec was benched after giving up three goals on 11 shots. Chris Mason replaced him and turned away just 12-of-17 shots in
rest of the game.
Buffalo opened the scoring to take a 1-0 lead only 24 seconds into the opening stanza, as Connolly sent a pass in front of the net for Pominville, who jammed the puck home for his 18th goal of the 2010-11 season.
Atlanta tied the game at 1-1 just eight minutes into the first period, as Thorburn won a faceoff and fired a shot past Miller. However, Buffalo restored their lead at 2-1 on a power play with eight minutes left in the first period, as Tyler Myers unleashed
a shot toward the net and Mancari deflected it home.
Niedermayer then gave the Sabres a two goal edge at 3-1, with nearly five minutes left in the first period, as he tipped in the puck from close range. Burmistrov cut the deficit to 3-2 just five minutes into the middle session, but Buffalo dominated the
play by scoring two goals in as many minutes for a three-goal advantage.
Gerbe doubled the Sabres lead at 4-2 nearly 11 minutes into the second period, before Ennis took the score to 5-2 on a breakaway with nearly seven minutes left in the middle period.
An excited Ennis said after the game, "That was a great goal. Gerbs did a nice job of carrying it to the net and whacking away. Then I was lucky enough to get that breakaway and put it in."
Brad Boyes extended their lead to 6-2 on a power play just three and a half minutes into the final frame, as he blasted a backhander into the net. Niedermayer made it a 7-2 game with nearly three minutes left in the period before Connolly finally rounded
off the scoring at 8-2 in the 18th minute.
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