The Sabres entered the game last Tuesday night with a season-long losing streak of three games. Three times in a row they had let games get away late in the third period. It was time to salt one away early and not worry about defending a one goal lead late in the game. That is exactly what they did, dismantling the heartless Bruins 7-1 in the HSBC arena.
The Sabres had finally put together a decent effort, playing with desperation wire-to-wire Tuesday night. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said, “For 60 minutes that desperation was there, and we got it from a lot of places.”
The Sabres played well, possibly getting a bump in the game from the return of arguably their best defenseman, Henrik Tallinder. This year, Tallinder has missed 35 games overall, with 24 games for a broken arm and then 11 from a high ankle sprain. With Tallinder in the lineup this year, the Sabres are a world-beating 16-1-1. With Tallinder out, they have been a slightly better than average 19-13-3.
Tallinder’s play is noted not only for his strong defense, but for his mobility and puck moving skills. He is also a vital part of the penalty kill and, most importantly, seems to make everyone around him perform better. Sabres co-captain and centerman Danny Briere said that Tallinder, “Is obviously a force, and especially with the new rules, with the long reach, and the way he skates, he just calms everything down back there.”
Tallinder’s usual defensive partner, Toni Lydman, plays much better hockey when they are paired together. Many consider them to be the Sabres’ top defensive pairing, even though Brian Campbell was a starter for the Eastern All-Star team.
The Sabres got on the board early in the first period with a five-on-three power-play goal by winger Thomas Vanek at the 2:15 mark. Sabres centerman, Chris Drury added another power-play tally at the 8:33 mark. Both goals were deflections while standing in front of the net.
After that, Boston scored their own five-on-three power-play goal 16:44 into the first period.
It was the only score that Sabres back-up goaltender, Marty Biron let in the whole game. Biron, getting a start in place of the tired Ryan Miller, made 25 saves to get his first victory in his last three attempts.
In the second period, the Sabres simply exploded. The Bruins looked like they were sleepwalking, and the Sabres made them pay.
Briere scored goals 19 and 20 of the year, giving the Sabres five 20 goal scorers, more than any other team in the NHL. In fact, only the Carolina Hurricanes have more than three, and seven teams in the NHL have no 20 goal scorers. It is only the second time in franchise history the Sabres have had five 20 goal scorers, the other instance being the 1974-1975, Stanley Cup finalists.
In between Briere’s pair of points, the Sabres scored another two goals, the first being a top-shelf goal by Paul Gaustad after a dazzling individual effort and a nice feed from Sabres centerman, Derek Roy.
The other goal was a short-handed tally by Sabres winger, Jason Pominville on a pass from Toni Lydman. The two-on-one break was the Sabres’ first short-handed goal since November 22 against Toronto, a 29-game span.
In the third period, Biron continued his stellar play, and Briere netted yet another goal. Briere’s second career hat-trick brought a barrage of hats to the ice, enough to overfill what looked like a twenty-gallon garbage can.
7-1 is the way the game, and the losing streak ended. The Sabres ended January, their first losing month, on a high note with the decimation of the Bruins. Sabres winger, Jason Pominville said, “We’ve been struggling lately, and I think tonight we played a solid 60 minutes, but it’s only one game.”
