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Red Wings 7, SABRES 2
Hot Wings continue strong December
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- The Buffalo Sabres have entered their annual holiday slump.
The Sabres lost to the Detroit Red Wings 7-2 Tuesday night, Buffalo's second defeat in as many nights.
"It just seems to fall around this time of year," said Sabres captain Michael Peca, whose club lost by 7-4 and 7-2 margins between Christmas and New Year's Day last season.
"You'd like it not to happen, especially when you're trying to battle back in the division and the conference. It's something we've got to move forward from," he said.
Pat Verbeek scored twice and Tomas Holmstrom and Igor Larionov each had a goal and two assists for the Red Wings.
Doug Brown, Niklas Lidstrom, and Aaron Ward also scored for Detroit, who hammered Buffalo with a six-goal outburst in the second period. Ken Wregget, who won his season-high third straight game, made 32 saves.
Miroslav Satan and Dixon Ward scored for Buffalo, which lost for the second-straight night.
"It was a tough loss, especially at home," said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, whose team lost 4-1 at New Jersey on Monday night.
The Red Wings, 9-1 in their last 10 games and 11-2 in December, victimized Dwayne Roloson for four goals and Martin Biron for three. It marked the most goals allowed by Buffalo since a 7-2 loss to Anaheim on Jan 1.
"All of a sudden, this tornado hit," Peca said. "That was a tough thing to handle. I remember losing 7-1 or 7-2, but nothing that hit us as fast as that."
Detroit extended its undefeated streak against Buffalo to nine games (8-0-1). The Sabres last topped the Red Wings in November 1995 at Memorial Auditorium.
Doug Brown gave Detroit a 1-0 lead on the team's first shot. Brown fired in a loose puck from the point for his eighth of the season at 1:13.
The Red Wings scored early and often in the second period, setting a team record for the fastest four goals.
Larionov netted his seventh of the year 2:27 into the period, firing a shot between Roloson's legs. Lidstrom scored 50 seconds later on a one-time slap shot for his eighth, prompting Biron to replace Roloson.
At 3:59, Aaron Ward got his first on a slap shot from the left point. Only 23 seconds later, Verbeek made it 5-0 with his first of the night.
The four goals in 1:55 broke the Wings' old mark of 2:25, set in November 1991 against St. Louis. Lidstrom was also involved in that flurry.
"We didn't really have more chances," Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman said. "Ours just went in."
Holmstrom drove Biron from the game at the 9:58 mark with his seventh. Verbeek scored his eighth on the first shot Roloson faced upon his return to the net.
"I felt bad for their goalies," Wregget said. "I've been on that side."
Satan scored his 17th, and sixth in 10 games, with 8:37 remaining in the game, spoiling Wregget's shutout bid.
Satan was stopped on a penalty shot earlier in the third when he rang a shot off the goal post.
Dixon Ward scored his fourth goal with 1:04 to play.
Summary
NHL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
DETROIT 1 6 0 7
BUFFALO 0 0 2 2 FINAL
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: DET - DOUG BROWN 8 (YURI BUTSAYEV, SERGEI FEDOROV) 1:13
2ND PRD: DET - IGOR LARIONOV 7 (TOMAS HOLMSTROM, MARTIN LAPOINTE)
2:27
DET - NICKLAS LIDSTROM 8 (TOMAS HOLMSTROM, IGOR LARIONOV)
3:17
DET - AARON WARD 1 (SERGEI FEDOROV, DARRYL LAPLANTE) 3:59
DET - PAT VERBEEK 7 (BRENDAN SHANAHAN, STEVE YZERMAN) 4:22
DET - TOMAS HOLMSTROM 7 (CHRIS CHELIOS, IGOR LARIONOV) 9:58
DET - PAT VERBEEK 8 (STEVE YZERMAN) 11:03
3RD PRD: BUF - MIROSLAV SATAN 17 (GEOFF SANDERSON, BRIAN CAMPBELL)
11:23
BUF - DIXON WARD 4 (WAYNE PRIMEAU, ROB RAY) 18:56
POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: DET - 0 OF 2, BUF - 0 OF 2.
MISSED PENALTY SHOTS: BUF - MIROSLAV SATAN, 4:34 3RD
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
DET 6 11 10 27
BUF 6 15 13 34
GOALIES: DET - KEN WREGGET
BUF - DWAYNE ROLOSON, MARTIN BIRON(3:17,2ND), DWAYNE
ROLOSON(10:02,2ND)
OFFICIALS: REF - S WALKOM
LIN - DRISCOLL, GAGNON
ATT: 18,690
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