| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
NEW YORK (AP) -- It doesn't matter who the Buffalo Sabres have in
goal, chances are the New York Rangers won't beat him.
|  | | Buffalo goalie Martin Biron keeps his eyes on the puck while teammate Jay McKee sends New York's Kim Johnsson, right, flying. |
Curtis Brown had a goal and an assist Tuesday night and Martin
Biron stopped all but one of 29 shots as Buffalo earned a 3-1
victory over New York to stretch the Sabres' unbeaten streak
against the Rangers to 12 games.
Biron joined Dwayne Roloson and Dominik Hasek as Buffalo goalies
who have kept the Rangers winless against the Sabres the past three
years.
Not only don't the Rangers beat the Sabres, they barely score.
Biron was 5:35 away from Buffalo's sixth shutout over New York in
nine games.
But the rookie goalie was not disappointed.
"Shutouts are a nice thing, but to win the game tonight at
Madison Square Garden was really more important," Biron said.
The Sabres have not lost to the Rangers since Dec. 13, 1996.
Buffalo is 8-0-4 in that span.
"You don't like to lose that many games against anybody,"
Rangers coach John Muckler said. "When Buffalo plays the way they
did tonight, they deserve to get the win."
The loss marked the first time in eight games that the Rangers
have not earned a point in the standings (5-1-1-1). New York is
trying to climb out from a 7-14-3 start to the season.
In their last three games, however, the Rangers lost in
overtime, squandered a lead but recovered to win in overtime and
fell to the Sabres.
"I think coming out of a period where we weren't winning games,
we were playing pretty well and were getting wins," said Rangers
goalie Mike Richter, who made 32 saves including some key stops
that kept New York in the game. "We've gotten away from our game a
little bit."
The Sabres controlled play in the second period and grabbed a 1-0 lead.
"We've been getting sloppy in our play and we looked a bit like
a tired team tonight," Richter said. "We didn't play as sharp as
we should have.
"I think the Sabres looked ready to go and they did play well.
We weren't terrible, but we didn't do enough to win."
Buffalo, the NHL's worst power-play team, broke a seven-game
streak without a man-advantage goal when Brown scored his 12th of
the season. Jason Woolley fired a shot from the right point that
Brown deflected down past Richter.
It was only the second power-play goal for Buffalo in 50 chances
over 12 games.
Miroslav Satan scored his 15th goal when he knocked in a rebound
of Michal Grosek's shot at 7:08 of the third period. Satan has four
goals in seven games.
Biron made a spectacular save with 11:01 left to preserve the
two-goal advantage. He deflected Kim Johnsson's drive above and
behind him and then batted the puck with his stick away from the
net.
"It's easier to bat it out of the air than to wait for it to
hit the ice and then play it," Biron said.
On the next rush up ice, the Sabres made it a two-goal swing as Dixon Ward scored 2:35 after Satan to make it 3-0.
"Biron made a save as good as any save Dominik Hasek ever
made," said Michael Peca, who assisted on Ward's third of the
season. "It led right to a goal."
New York avoided the shutout when Mike Knuble scored a
power-play goal on a backhander from the slot. The Rangers, who
have the second-worst power-play unit in the league, scored for the
sixth time in 19 chances.
The Rangers had two good chances to score in the first period,
but those were thwarted by Biron, who earned his 12th victory.
Alexandre Daigle came in on a breakaway 8:25 into the period,
but shot wide of the left post after he deked around Biron. On New
York's next shift, the Rangers came in on a two-on-one, but Biron
turned away Jan Hlavac's shot.
"I thought I was closer," Daigle said of his chance. "I could
have waited. I should have waited."
Rangers forward Theoren Fleury had a four game multiple-point streak snapped.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Buffalo Clubhouse
NY Rangers Clubhouse
If injury persists, Hasek might not retire this season
RECAPS
Nashville 3
Boston 1
Pittsburgh 4
NY Islanders 0
Buffalo 3
NY Rangers 1
Toronto 4
Tampa Bay 2
Dallas 0
Calgary 0
Edmonton 6
Washington 2
St. Louis 6
Phoenix 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Martin Biron makes an amazing stick save.
avi: 453 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
