BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Ryan Miller made 30 saves and Tim Connolly,
Adam Mair and Henrik Tallinder each had a goal and an assist in the
Buffalo Sabres' 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday
night.
Jason Pominville also scored to help the Sabres snap a two-game
losing streak and improve to 9-3-3. The Sabres also stopped an
eight-game home winless streak against St. Louis that dated to
October 1995.
David Perron had a goal and two assists, and Lee Stempniak and
Patrik Berglund had a goal and an assist each for the Blues. St.
Louis is winless in its last six, with five regulation losses in
that span, to drop to 5-8-1.
Chris Mason made 24 saves in relief of starter Manny Legace, who
was pulled after Pominville's goal at 5:18 of the first. Legace
allowed three goals on just seven shots in making his second
consecutive start after returning from a hip injury.
The Blues were without second-leading scorer Paul Kariya for the
third straight game. Kariya has been sidelined by an unspecified
lower-body injury, but is expected to return Friday night at
Chicago.
The Sabres chased Legace with the first-period spree in which
they scored three times in the first 5 minutes. Mair got things
rolling with his third 2:46 in, and Connolly made it 2-0 at 4:55.
Twenty-three seconds later, Pominville's wrist shot from the
slot squirted past Legace's pads to end the goalie's night.
St. Louis cut it to 3-1 on Perron's first of the season with
just under 6 minutes to go in the first. He banked a shot in off
Miller's right arm from a sharp angle.
Berglund made it 3-2 with his fifth 3 minutes into the second
period after batting the puck out of the air past Miller from in
tight.
Tallinder upped Buffalo's edge to 4-2 with his first of the
season at 3:34 of the third period. Tallinder took a pass from
Daniel Paille and let a wrist shot go from the top of the left
circle that eluded Mason.
The Blues made it 4-3 with just under 12 minutes to go when
Stempniak converted Perron's slick pass in the slot.
Notes: The Blues will conclude their five-game trip Friday against
the Blackhawks. ... There were only six minor penalties called,
none in the first period. ... It's the second time Legace has been
pulled this season. He was yanked after allowing two first-period
goals in a game against Los Angeles on Oct. 24. ... Berglund
extended his points streak to five games. ... It was the fastest
Buffalo had jumped out to a 3-0 lead since Jan. 14, 2006, against
Los Angeles when it scored three times in the first 4:33 of a 10-1
win.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)