Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

Recap: Boston vs. Buffalo

Zdeno Chara tallied a goal and an assist, as Boston halted a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory against Buffalo at TD Garden.

Marco Sturm, Mark Recchi and Byron Bitz also found the back of the net for Boston, which had been outscored 5-1 over its skid -- including back-to-back shutouts at the hands of the Rangers and Red Wings.

Tuukka Rask faced 30 shots and allowed two by him in the win, which saw Steve Begin pick up two assists.

Derek Roy and Jason Pominville scored for the Sabres, who have lost back-to- back games following a 5-1-0 stretch. Jhonas Enroth received his first NHL start and was beaten four times on 37 shots.

"Our game has lacked energy the last three games," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff remarked. "We've dealt with some sickness. We're going to back off. We're going to get the guys some rest. We know how hard we've worked in the first ten games. We know what type of team we can be. We haven't been that the last three games."

A pair of power-play goals had Boston ahead 2-0 after 20 minutes. Recchi tipped down a Derek Morris shot from high in the right circle that skipped along the ice and past Enroth at 3:17.

Chara then cranked a one-timer on net from deep at the top of the slot through a Recchi screen to make it a two-goal game with 3:29 left in the period.

It was a 3-0 game just 1:22 into the second as Begin intercepted a clearing attempt and spun a backhand pass in close to Bitz, who deked Enroth to the ice and slid the puck into a wide open net.

Roy rifled a loose puck in the slot past Rask 1:25 later to get Buffalo on the board.

But with 1:29 to go in the period, Sturm took a pass from Patrice Bergeron in the left circle, wheeled and fired past Enroth for a 4-1 game.

Some late fisticuffs produced a Sabres power play and they used the open ice to scratch out a second goal, but with only 1:48 left to play, as Tyler Myers set up Pominville for a bang-bang score at the left side of the net.

Game Notes