0xbt

BUFFALO [url=http://www.officialkings.com/authentic-adidas-adrian-kempe-jersey]Adrian Kempe Jersey[/url] , N.Y. (AP) Tyson Jost and the speedy Colorado Avalanche caught the Buffalo Sabres flatfooted through most of the first 50 minutes on Sunday night.By the time the Sabres could recover, the Avalanche built what proved to be an insurmountable lead in hanging on for a 5-4 victory.”We’re a young, fast team. That’s part of our identity this year,” center Tyson Jost said. ”I like what we did that today, so that’s something we have to use to our advantage because we do have young legs.”The Avalanche ran circles around the Sabres – and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen in particular – by building a 3-1 lead through the 1:07 mark of the second period on Colin Wilson’s goal.Then, Jost and Gabriel Bourque sealed the win by converting rebounds less than four minutes apart to build the Avalanche lead to 5-2 with 12:57 remaining in a game Colorado never trailed.Wilson had a goal and assist, Matt Nieto scored on a short-handed breakaway and Alexander Kerfoot opened the scoring in the first minute.Jonathan Bernier stopped 28 shots and the Avalanche won for the third time in nine games (3-5-1) to keep pace in a tightly contested race for the Western Conference’s final two wild card spots. The Avalanche now have 64 points, just two behind Minnesota for the last playoff position.Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and two assists in Buffalo’s first game without leading scorer Jack Eichel [url=http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-mathew-barzal-jersey]http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-mathew-barzal-jersey[/url] , who will miss between four and six weeks with a sprained right ankle. Eichel was hurt in a 4-2 win at Boston on Saturday.Eichel’s absence wasn’t the issue for the Sabres. They were instead undone by a meltdown from their top defenseman, Ristolainen, who was on the ice for all five Colorado goals.The trouble began when Kerfoot scored 43 seconds in by tapping in Wilson’s pass on a two-man breakaway after both sneaked in behind Ristolainen and Nathan Beaulieu. Nieto’s short-handed goal that put Colorado up 2-1 came after Ristolainen muffed on keeping the puck in at the Avalanche blue line.Then Wilson’s 100th career goal was set up by captain Gabriel Landeskog, who forced Ristolainen to give up the puck in his own zone.”It’s just a bad game and it should not happen,” said Ristolainen, who was benched for much of the remainder of the second period.Coach Phil Housley didn’t mince words when asked about the defenseman’s struggles.”I think you saw the game,” Housley said. ”I think there’s some passengers tonight that weren’t prepared to play the game.”Evander Kane capped Buffalo’s scoring with 2:52 remaining. Casey Nelson and Benoit Pouliot scored short-handed goals and Robin Lehner stopped 22 shots for Buffalo.The Avalanche made up for the absence of their leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon [url=http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-nick-leddy-jersey]http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-nick-leddy-jersey[/url] , who missed his sixth game with an upper body injury.The five goals against Buffalo matched Colorado’s combined output in going 1-3 in its previous four outings.”At times, it was a little bit of a strange game,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of an outing in which the teams combined for three short-handed and two power-play goals. ”It wasn’t pretty, but it’s a big win for our team, no question.”Bednar said MacKinnon has been skating at home and has a chance to return soon.NOTES: The three short-handed combined goals scored wasn’t even a season-high for a Sabres game. Buffalo and the New York Islanders combined for two each in a Sabres’ 6-3 loss on Oct. 17. … Colorado played its 1,500th road game in team history and 2,999th overall, including the franchise’s tenure as the Quebec Nordiques. The Avs improved their all-time road record to 599-714-64 and 123 ties. … Sabres top defensive prospect Brendan Guhle returned to action with AHL Rochester after missing nearly a month with a lower body injury.UP NEXTAvalanche: Return home where they’ve won nine straight (one shy of matching franchise record) to host the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.Sabres: Host Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.— BOSTON (AP) — Mackenzie Blackwood hardly looked like a rookie in net for New Jersey.Blackwood stopped 40 shots for his first NHL victory [url=http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-nick-foligno-jersey]Nick Foligno Jersey[/url] , Blake Coleman scored twice and the Devils beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Thursday night.Blackwood had plenty of help, even with leading scorer Taylor Hall out of the lineup, as the Devils took the lead 25 seconds into the game on a goal by Damon Severson.“The team played awesome for me — really made my job a lot easier,” said Blackwood, who was making his second career start and playing in his fourth NHL game.Kyle Palmieri added his team-high 19th goal for the Devils, who won on the road for just the fourth time this season.Nico Hirschier had a goal and an assist and Andy Greene had a pair of assists as New Jersey got its first win in Boston in five years.“We did a good job for the most part playing with the lead and I thought we were pretty consistent throughout the game,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “It was nice to see Blackwood get his first win.”Hynes said Blackwood, who’s 6-foot-4 [url=http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-oliver-bjorkstrand-jersey]Authentic Oliver Bjorkstrand Jersey[/url] , covers a lot of area and has shown tremendous composure in his limited duty.“Now you have a big mountain of a man who’s in the net and has great athleticism but also plays with poise and is in good position. That’s tough to beat,” Hynes said.Patrice Bergeron and Chris Wagner scored for Boston, and Jaroslav Halak had 28 saves.Severson’s early goal on a wrist shot from the right circle gave Blackwood a lead the Devils never relinquished.“Obviously we didn’t want to start the way we started, giving up a goal in the first minute of the game,” Halak said. “It’s always hard to keep the focus after that.”Hall, who has 11 goals and 26 assists, was out with a lower-body injury and did not make the trip. The Devils were outshot 42-33 but adjusted to his absence.The Bruins had their biggest advantage in the second period with 19 shots to New Jersey’s nine, but only Wagner got one past Blackwood — a one-timer 15:07 into the period to pull Boston within 2-1.“When they had some pushes [url=http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-murray-jersey]Ryan Murray Jersey[/url] , he made some big saves so it was great to see,” Hynes said.Coleman got the two-goal lead back for the Devils after he blocked a slap shot by Torey Krug at the blue line and outraced Brandon Carlo to the rebound for a breakaway, getting Halak with a backhand 4:15 into the third.Hischier scored 12:43 into the third and Coleman scored into an empty net with 46 seconds remaining.“We just need to learn from this one,” Halak said. “We kind of kept chasing the game and when you’re doing that, it’s usually losing hockey.”The Devils went up 2-0 with 4:35 left in the first on a power-play goal by Palmieri, whose slap shot from the right point bounced off Halak and hit Carlo, then bounced back over Halak into the net.NOTES: Blackwood was called up from AHL Binghamton on Dec. 17 after starter Cory Schneider went on injured reserve with an abdominal strain. … Boston captain Zdeno Chara returned after missing 19 games with an MCL injury in his left knee. … D Kevan Miller returned after 13 games with cartilage injury to his larynx suffered Nov. 26 in Toronto. … LW Jake DeBrusk had been out with a concussion and played for the first time since Dec. 6.UP NEXTDevils: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.Bruins: Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.