The Buffalo Sabres have finally lost a game.
Former Sabre Slava Kozlov scored in a shootout and Kari Lehtonen stopped all three Sabres challengers as the Atlanta Thrashers earned a wild 5-4 win Saturday night in Buffalo.
Sabres goalie Ryan Miller makes a save on Marian Hossa during the first period of Saturday's game in Buffalo.
(Don Heupel/Associated Press)
The loss marked the end of the Sabres' 10-game winning streak, which tied the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs' record for the best start to an NHL season.
"I haven't felt like this in a while," Buffalo goltender Ryan Miller said. "It would have been fun to be on our own, a little piece of history. … Every night's not going to go your way."
It was also the first regular-season defeat for Buffalo since April 7 against Philadelphia, a 15-game streak that fell two games short of the record set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1993.
The NHL recognized Buffalo's season-opening streak even though the Sabres had won three games by shootout, which the league instituted last season. The 1993-94 Leafs won nine games in regulation and one in overtime.
Since teams receive a point for losing in a shootout, the Sabres can console themselves with the fact that they've earned at least a point in each of their first 11 games.
The team also received a standing ovation from an appreciative sell-out home crowd and acknowledged the boisterous Buffalo fans by skating out to centre ice.
Thrashers nipping at Sabres
Bobby Holik, Scott Mellanby, Niko Kapanen and Ilya Kovalchuk scored in regulation for the Thrashers, who got 32 saves from Kari Lehtonen.
The win improved Atlanta to 8-1-3, a franchise-best start that has the Thrashers just one point behind the Sabres for top spot in the Eastern conference.
"We're not here to make statements. We're here to win hockey games," Holik said. "We won tonight playing a good game. We matched their game. … And we're just moving on."
Daniel Briere, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht replied for the Sabres, who fought back to tie the game on four occasions.
Hecht's goal with less than two minutes left forced overtime. After the extra frame solved nothing, Kozlov beat Ryan Miller for the only goal of the shootout.
Buffalo defenceman Henrik Tallinder missed the game after breaking his left arm in the Sabres' 3-0 win Thursday over the New York Islanders.
Tallinder is scheduled to undergo surgery on Sunday and said he could miss up to two months.
See-saw scoring
Atlanta opened the scoring 5:29 into the first period. The Thrashers' Jim Slater was stripped of the puck next to the Sabres goal, but the puck squirted to Holik, who maneuvered around Miller and slid the puck in.
After Briere replied with his third goal of the season, the Thrashers regained the lead mid-way through the first. An ill-advised, between-the-legs drop pass by Maxim Afinogenov was intercepted inside the Atlanta blue-line, sending the Thrashers the other way. Holik carried the puck into the Buffalo zone and fed Mellanby in the slot for a shot that went between the pads of Miller.
Hossa had a chance to put Atlanta up by two a few minutes later when he got a short-handed breakaway, but the sniper lost the handle on the puck.
The Sabres tied the game on the power-play at 14:03 of the third. Operating from deep on the right-wing side, Derek Roy threw a pass in front of the net that ricocheted to Vanek, who drove the puck into an open cage.
Fortuitous bounce
Atlanta took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to regain the lead less than two minutes later. Kapanen won a face-off deep in the Sabres zone back to Andy Sutton at the point. Sutton's shot sailed well wide but caromed off the boards to Kapanen for an easy tap-in.
Buffalo drew even early in the third with Pominville's seventh goal of the year, but Kovalchuk quickly restored the Thrashers' lead by firing a shot from the high slot past the glove of Miller.
With the Sabres' streak in serious jeopardy, Hecht charged to the net and backhanded the rebound from a Pominville shot past Lehtonen with 1:44 left.
With files from Associated PressRelated
More Hockey Headlines »
- Oilers blank Ovechkin, Caps
- Dwayne Roloson made 19 saves to earn his first shutout of the season as the Oilers held Alex Ovechkin to four shots in a 4-0 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
- Flames fall again to Predators
- Jason Arnott scored two goals as the Nashville Predators continued their recent domination of the Calgary Flames with a 3-2 victory on Saturday night.
- Leafs beat Habs in shootout
- Kyle Wellwood scored the winner in round number seven of an overtime shootout as the Toronto Maple Leafs edged the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 at the Bell Centre.
- Chara lifts Bruins over Sens
- Zdeno Chara scored with 4:25 remaining to lift the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 home win over the Ottawa Senators in Chara's first game against his former team since leaving in the off-season.
- Thrashers end Sabres' streak
- Slava Kozlov scored in a shootout to lift the Atlanta Thrashers to a 5-4 victory Saturday that ended the Buffalo Sabres' record-tying 10-game winning streak to open the season.
More Sports Headlines »
- Man arrested in Berbick slaying
- A 20-year-old man was arrested Sunday in connection with the murder of former heavyweight and Canadian boxing champion Trevor Berbick.
- Canada golden at short track WC
- Canadian speed skaters continued their medal haul Sunday, winning two gold medals and a silver at the short track World Cup event in Jeonju, South Korea.
- Nestor, Knowles win Swiss title
- Toronto's Daniel Nestor and partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas won a hard-fought doubles title Sunday at the Swiss Indoors tennis event in Basel, Switzerland.
- Vick passes Falcons past Bengals
- Michael Vick used his arm for the second straight week to lead the visiting Atlanta Falcons to a 29-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday.
- Schumacher to remain with Ferrari
- Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, who retired from racing last week, will stay on at Ferrari as an assistant to new chief executive Jean Todt.
