Text
Facebook TwitterText
Send via EmailE-Mail
PrintPrint
Share This: |

Sabres Edge Lightning 2-1



The Sabres hit the road on Tuesday and snapped their four-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay, giving Ron Rolston his first NHL coaching win.

Tampa Bay got off to a fast start on Steven Stamkos' 14th of the season. The league's leading goal scorer drove the net and poked a shot past Ryan Miller just 1:24 into the game, giving the Lightning an early 1-0 advantage. Canisius alum Cory Conacher picked up an assist on Stamkos' tally. Buffalo tied it up near the midway point of the opening period when Cody Hodgson banked a shot off the skate of Sami Salo. Hodgson flung a pass out front from behind the Tampa Bay net, however the puck deflected off Salo and wound up getting by Mathieu Garon.

After skating to a scoreless 2nd period, Tyler Myers put Buffalo ahead very early in the final frame, ripping a shot into the Tampa Bay net 52 seconds in. Just moments after nearly tapping in a goal of his own, Thomas Vanek gained possession behind the Lightning net and fed Myers near the top of the faceoff circle. The Buffalo defenseman, after taking two penalties in the 2nd period, gave his team the lead for the first time.

Miller was sharp in the win, turning aside 30 shots while Garon made 19 saves for Tampa Bay. The Sabres (7-12-1) continue their Florida road swing on Thursday when they face the Panthers. Hear the call with Rick Jeannereat and Rob Ray on WGR 550 and the Buffalo Sabres Radio Network.

1st Period
Goals
1:24 - TB - Steven Stamkos (14) (Teddy Purcell, Cory Conacher)
10:02 - BUF - Cody Hodgson (8) (Andrej Sekera, Thomas Vanek)

Penalties
2:57 - TB - Brian Lee (2 min., delay of game)
10:38 - BUF - Nathan Gerbe (2 min., holding the stick)
13:56 - BUF - Robyn Regehr (2 min., interference)

2nd Period
Goals
None

Penalties
5:15 - BUF - Tyler Myers (2 min., high-sticking)
7:38 - BUF - Drew Stafford (2 min., high-sticking)
8:53 - BUF - Tyler Myers (2 min., hooking)

3rd Period
Goals
0:52 - BUF - Tyler Myers (3) (Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville)

Penalties
4:54 - BUF - Christian Ehrhoff (2 min., tripping)

Goaltending
BUF - Ryan Miller (30 saves, 31 shots)
TB - Mathieu Garon (19 saves, 21 shots)

Power Plays
BUF - 0 of 1
TB - 0 of 6

Three Stars
1.) Ryan Miller (30 saves)
2.) Thomas Vanek (0 G, 2 A)
3.) Steven Stamkos (1 G, 0 A)

02/26/2013 10:10PM
Sabres Edge Lightning 2-1
Please enter your comments below.
02/26/2013 10:18PM
Boucher will be fired soon and You can bet Dineen won't be FLAT thursday...
Oh another LUCKY win, How exciting... After sneaking out of SLEEEEEEPY Tampa, WALMART can bet Dineen won't let the Panthers be FLAT. It's losses like these that will get Tampa's Guy Boucher the next FIRED coach in the NHL. Watch for it.Fore will come.
02/26/2013 10:20PM
Nothing brings out the...
Silly Euphies like another CHEESE WIN. Ridiculous fore...
02/26/2013 10:54PM
Unbelievable - No Surprises
I have been a loyal sabres follower since 1971 and not suprised the sabres won this game. The lightning has several small players so it was no surprise to see the sabres beat a smallish team. It also doesn't surprise me that they gave their best effort for 60 minutes in front of their family. But I am appalled at the lack of effort by many of these same players during the other 80% of games played so far. They know who they are and they should be ashamed of themselves for not giving the loyal ticket paying customers an honest days effort the other 80% of the games. They have "sandpaper" players on the ice, they just need more in the lockeroom. Miller and a few others have shown up virtually every night....that can't be said about several others. Myers may have scored the big goal but, by my count he made at least 6 atrociously bad plays... due to poor decsionmaking and physical errors...and he has been doing that for several games except for the benching. He is becoming a Mike Wilson clone. Gerbe is also a negative player given his size, penchant for foolish penalties, and no longer scoring. Porter is becoming a revelation and pleasant suprise and so has Pardy. Dear Mr. Pegula and Black, if you are reading this, please add Ryan O'Reilly to this team and other available leaders and subtract those who have demonstarted time and again that they can not be trusted to get this team to the promised land. Remember Rolston talking about players not flinching? He was spot on. That was Drury's and Briere's trademark in their hey day. The sabres need to acquire that again. In terms of trading, that should include Myers, Gerbe Regier, Regehr, Hecht, Leopold. Also do not hesitate to move Grogorenko...he is starting to show the same holes in his game at this early stage of his career as so many others on the current roster. Think about it, how many truly great players have been benched early in their careers as often as Myers has been over the last few years? That is a telling story of motivation. The sabres will need to take another step back in this process (by trading for propects and raft picks) if they intend to reach that ultimate goal.
02/26/2013 11:45PM
Miller
proves once again, he's worth every penny. While the whiners whine, other teams fans envy our goalies play. Cause when you ain't got it, is when you miss it.
02/27/2013 12:22AM
Buffalo Fan visiting Treasure island
Its so nice watching our struggling team manage a win in an opponents building while sitting in their truly amazing Arena. Its also fun hearing the locals all saying the same things we all seem to say at home:" Shoot the (expletive) puck" and"what's the matter with these guys,etc" So take heart Buffalonians, we're not the ONLY team with "issues"!! Great win DLR
02/27/2013 2:11AM
ryan miller
this win is on miller.30 shots again.no defense.we should finish last and have a top 5 picks.miller should demand a trade.
02/27/2013 2:22AM
Miller
Ryan was awesome tonight and I especially liked his post-game comment mentioning that if the D-men stay were they are supposed to stay it gives him a much better chance to see the puck. I've noticed on so many goals this year it appeared that our own guys were screening out Miller. Hopefully I don't any more of that.
02/27/2013 8:30AM
Linde's Legacy
Miller finally stands tall and pulls out a win. Hasek use to do this nightly. If it wasn't for Hasek, Lucky Linde would have lost many more games those first couple of seasons while Hasek was carrying this team. Meyers play is so bad is another lingering Linde legacy. His work developing younger players is atrocious. Name a player who has evolved during his time with Linde, none thats who. Name a season player who came here at draft time and didn't end up on the 4th line and was gone the following season under Linde? There weren't any. He's gone two years to late and his buddy Darcy should follow the same route at the end of this disasterous short season! Thank god it is a short season, no fan could watch this for 82 games!!!
02/27/2013 8:52AM
one of our best games
you people who complain about this game are idiots. This was the best effort they put out for 90 minutes. they held one of the highest scoring teams to 1 goal. what game do you watch where a team makes zero mistakes? Adam Pardy looked strong and fasthe needs to stay in the line up. Even Hecht looked like a hockey player. if they build on this then it's a turning point. Nice job Ryan but thats what your paid to do, keep it up we need you.
02/27/2013 9:00AM
Amazing
All of you haters just go away. Give them credit where it is due. They played hard a full 60 minutes and they came away with a win. They still have a lot of work to do. Way to many foolish penalties although I saw many that could have been called on Tampa as well that were not. Myers still baffles me with some of the plays he is making. Pardy however is a very very nice surprise. I cannot believe this guy was sitting in Rochester all season while we played some of the guys we have. He was everything last night you want your defensemen to be. Something is clearly wrong with Vanek he cannot he catch the puck. If your injured sit out it does not help the team to play and be horrible.
02/27/2013 9:09AM
They won???
I turned it off after 1 minute 24 seconds and went to bed. Woke up this morning and turned on shill radio and found out they won a bore fest during the Robitaille segment. Holy cow! Let's talk playoffs. Right Roby? That game was right up his alley listening to him for two minutes after the alarm went off and had to turn the radio off. (Good defense and goaltending was said for the 15,000th time) Will he ever talk something different instead of defensive hockey all the time. Roby is boring. It's the same theme each time. Mingia.
02/27/2013 9:20AM
Any trades yet?
They are happening, but not here. Wake up the deadhead GM or just FIRE THE BUM!!!
02/27/2013 9:43AM
Hangover
I got up this morning and did not feel that another loss hangover. Heck I even watched Hockey Central. Is this how it feels to win the cup?
02/27/2013 9:43AM
OH, OH, OH, O'REILLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY........BOOM!...
DO IT NOW!!!!
02/27/2013 11:36AM
Grigorenko
How do you spell waste of a roster spot??? I got it...G.E.R.B.E
02/27/2013 12:00PM
Are Darcy and Drew still with the team?
These 2 need to go asap if they are still with the team.
02/27/2013 12:23PM
Let's make it
..two wins in a row fellas. Go get 'em.
02/27/2013 1:23PM
good win
dont know what game you winners were watching but the sabres played well and won.take a day off from your constant complaining.did you know tampa bay came into the game as the highest scoring team in the league.they scored 1 goal.good win;hopefully they build off of it tomorrow.one more thing;have no problem when people complain when the sabres lose but when they win a hard fought game on the road against a pretty good team and people still complain,well thats pathetic.
02/27/2013 1:58PM
The worst team in the NHL?
Without Miller's strong play the Sabres would be dead last. The "strong" finish to last season (e.g. wins at SJ and Van) were all Miller. This team needs to shed the vets who have failed to deliver the past 5 yrs. Stafford, Hecht, Gerbe, Leopold, Regehr, and Capt. Jason Perimeter. This team needs an upgrade in talent (a top-5 pick would help) and players who are willing to compete/sacrifice each and every game (e.g. finishing checks, winning puck battles, going to high traffic areas, etc.). The Sabres need top-6 forwards with a similar work ethic to Kaleta; watch good teams and you can see their work ethic and how different it is to Buffalo. Finally, no matter how you look at it the Sabres are a bottom third team in the East, no matter who is coaching, and need some big changes.
Title :
Comment :
Since Terry Pegula asked, what has Darcy done wrong?
  missed playoffs last two years
  too loyal to his players
  no extensive coach search
  too much money too early for Myers
 
View Results
ADVERTISEMENT