Sabres 5, Devils 2
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A rare snow day made all the difference for the Buffalo Sabres.
After heavy snow in Buffalo pushed the game against New Jersey back a day to Thursday night, Curtis Brown had a goal and two assists as the Sabres snapped the Devils' nine-game unbeaten streak with a 5-2 victory.
The Sabres looked well rested and sharp, while the Stanley Cup champions seemed to feel the effects of having to spend an extra night at a hotel.
"Right from the start, we showed that we stayed at the Hyatt too long," Devils goalie Martin Brodeur said. "We didn't get our legs together."
Erik Rasmussen and Vaclav Varada had a goal and an assist each for Buffalo, which won its third in a row.
"We had our 'A' game from start to finish," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.
The Sabres went hard to the net all night and maintained their discipline by not committing a single penalty for the first time since Feb. 17, 1980, against Montreal.
"I think that was one of our best efforts of the year, going up against a team like that," Buffalo forward Curtis Brown said. "You're never going to play a perfect game, but that was a real nice effort by the guys."
It was the second time in two meetings this season that the Sabres have beaten the Devils.
"Knowing you're going up against a great hockey club, you come to the rink focused," Brown said.
Petr Sykora scored both goals for the Devils, who were 7-0-2 following a six-game losing streak and seven-game winless run.
After playing a solid first period, the Devils appeared lethargic. Both teams finished with 30 shots, but Buffalo had the most of the scoring chances.
"We sat around a hotel for 48 hours, and that doesn't help," Devils coach Larry Robinson said. "There's no place you could go, nothing you could do — go from your bed to eat and back to your bed — and it looked like it. We looked dead.
"We flatly got outplayed, outhustled, outhit at every part of the game."
Brodeur thought his team was slow throughout.
"They were skating real fast compared to the teams we're used to," he said. "It had to be something we did. I don't think those guys are that much faster than we are."
Brodeur finished with 25 saves, but was topped by Dominik Hasek, who turned away 28 shots. Hasek is 4-0-1 in his last five matchups with Brodeur.
The Sabres pulled away from the Devils with three goals in the second period, including two in the first 1:29.
Five players scored for Buffalo, continuing a season-long trend of spreading the wealth.
KINGS 5, STARS 2:Ziggy Palffy had a goal and an assist, and Stephane Fiset stopped 29 shots in his second start of the season as Los Angeles defeated Dallas. Palffy's 19th goal and second-period assist added to his NHL-leading total of 42 points.
WILD 4, BLACKHAWKS 2:Antti Laaksonen, Aaron Gavey, Filip Kuba and Wes Walz scored as Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak. The expansion Wild won their third straight against the Blackhawks to take the season series 3-1.
FLAMES 3, PREDATORS 0: Mike Vernon made 15 saves for his 25th career shutout as Calgary beat Nashville to end a franchise-worst 10-game home winless streak. Clarke Wilm, with a goal and an assist, Marc Savard and Jeff Shantz scored for Calgary, which won just its second home game.