|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets anticipated what
the score of their game against the Buffalo Sabres would be before
it even started.
|  | | Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek gets help from James Patrick, who blocks a shot by Blue Jackets winger Geoff Sanderson (8). |
Serge Aubin scored twice as the expansion Blue Jackets downed
the Sabres 2-1 Tuesday night in the first meeting between the
teams.
"Before the game, the guys were saying we may have to win 2-1
because there's two goalies of this caliber," Columbus coach Dave
King said. "They called it exactly right."
The goalies were Columbus' Ron Tugnutt -- who finished with 22
saves -- and Buffalo's Dominik Hasek, who had 16 saves.
"We had numerous chances," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "We
knew it would be a low-chance game. ... We had a lot of shots blocked,
we muffed a lot of shots, we missed nets."
The Blue Jackets have won two straight and have earned at least
one point in four consecutive games, tying a season high. Columbus
picked up a point in four straight games two other times. The
victory also improves the Blue Jackets' road record to 5-13-3-2.
The Sabres are losers of two straight and have scored just two
goals in their last three games. The loss kept Buffalo a point
behind Toronto in the battle for second place in the Northeast
Division.
"We should win 90 percent of these games and we need these
points," Hasek said. "If we want to compete against teams like
Toronto and Ottawa we can't waste any more games like that."
Aubin, who had the third multi-goal game of his rookie season,
scored both of his goals in the second period, after the Blue
Jackets fell behind 1-0. Erik Rasmussen had the lone goal for
Buffalo, which has dropped two straight games.
Aubin's second goal came when he deflected a shot by forward
Brett Gardiner. Hasek looked to be in good position to stop
Gardiner's shot, but Aubin's deflection jumped over his left
shoulder before he could react.
"That's a funny one," Aubin said of his second goal. "The
puck was coming right at me. I just tried to protect myself and it
hit my stick and went top left shelf."
A four-minute power play in the third gave Buffalo a golden
opportunity to tie it. Columbus -- the worst penalty-killing team in
the league -- smothered the Sabres' man advantage, limiting Buffalo
to just two shots. Both were 40-foot slap shots by Buffalo
defenseman Alexei Zhitnik that Tugnutt easily blocked.
"It wasn't just the kill itself, it was how impressive our kill
was," Tugnutt said. "Four minutes straight of power-play time --
especially at that time of the game ... early third period with a
one-goal lead -- you've got to give our penalty-killers a great deal
of credit."
After going 0-for-2 on the power play, the Sabres have failed on
31 straight opportunities. Last season, Buffalo's longest
power-play drought was 34 chances.
In the final five minutes, Buffalo put several shots on net, but
each time Tugnutt turned the Sabres away.
"Toward the end we got a little bit scrambly at times, but we
didn't give them a really good opportunity inside," King said.
"When we did, Tug was there. It was a very good road game."
Game notes
It was the only meeting between Columbus and Buffalo this
season. ... Aubin has 12 goals this season, second among NHL
rookies to the 13 scored by Tampa Bay's Brad Richards. ... Buffalo
right winger Rob Ray was helped off the ice favoring his right leg after he
collided with Columbus' Kevyn Adams in the second period. He
returned in the third period and said his knee would be evaluated
on Wednesday.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Columbus Clubhouse
Buffalo Clubhouse
RECAPS
Columbus 2
Buffalo 1
St. Louis 5
Montreal 2
Ottawa 3
NY Islanders 2
Washington 5
Tampa Bay 2
Nashville 4
Atlanta 3
Phoenix 4
Calgary 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Brett Gardiner's shot deflects off Serge Aubin and into the net for the score.
avi: 518 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
David Vyborny passes the puck to Serge Aubin for his first goal of the game.
avi: 699 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
