Buffalo 4, Edmonton 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Where: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees:
Don VanMassenhoven, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen:
David Brisebois, Tony Sericolo
Attendance:
18690
By SportsDirect Inc.
Drew Stafford broke a tie with 5:26 remaining in the third period as the Buffalo Sabres defeated Edmonton 4-3 on Tuesday, handing the Oilers their eighth consecutive road defeat.
Stafford struck shortly after the Oilers had killed off Theo Peckham's penalty. Following a scramble in front of the Edmonton goal, Stafford banged in a loose puck for his first goal in eight games.
Nathan Gerbe made it a two-goal advantage just over two minutes later, and the Sabres overcame a late Corey Potter marker to prevail for only the third time in 11 games.
Buffalo has beaten Edmonton in six straight encounters since the end of the 2005 lockout.
After Taylor Hall gave Edmonton a lead midway through the first period - his ninth point in nine games since returning from a shoulder injury - the Sabres drew even at 14:23. Jason Pominville entered the Oilers zone and ripped a shot that beat netminder Nikolai Khabibulin for his team-leading 40th point of the season.
Jordan Leopold gave Buffalo its first lead at 5:10 of the second period, gathering a Drew Stafford pass and blasting a high shot past Khabibulin.
Sam Gagner tied things just before the midway point of the period, whistling a shot from the top of the circle that eluded Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller.
Top Game Performances
| Edmonton |
|
Buffalo |
|
Sam Gagner 2 |
Points |
Drew Stafford 3 |
|
Sam Gagner 1 |
Goals |
Drew Stafford 1 |
|
Ales Hemsky 2 |
Assists |
Drew Stafford 2 |
|
Sam Gagner 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Nikolai Khabibulin .879 |
Save Percentage |
Ryan Miller .885 |
|
Nikolai Khabibulin 29 |
Saves |
Ryan Miller 23 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Edmonton
|
26 |
3 |
1-3 |
2-2 |
4 |
25 |
| Buffalo
|
33 |
4 |
0-2 |
2-3 |
6 |
20 |
Upcoming Games
-
Buffalo will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Sabres have a W/L % of .353 after a win and .545 after a loss.
-
Edmonton will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Oilers have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .435 after a loss.
For more information, contact us