DALLAS (AP) - Derek Roy gave the Buffalo Sabres a much-needed
boost going into the All-Star break.
Roy scored both goals, including the game-winner with 14:48 left
after a 2-on-1 break with some nifty passing, and the Sabres beat
the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Thursday night. It was only the second win
in 14 games for Buffalo.
After having the best overall record in the NHL last season, the
Sabres (21-21-6) have slipped nearly all the way to the bottom of
the Eastern Conference standings with only Tampa Bay having fewer
than their 48 points. They are only one loss shy of matching last
year's total.
Taking a puck out of the corner in their own end, Roy, Drew
Stafford and Thomas Vanek charged the length of the ice for the
tiebreaking goal. Vanek took a cross-ice pass and returned the puck
to Roy just to the right of the net for a backhanded shot.
The line of Roy, Stafford and Vanek also produced when the
Sabres struck first - and fast.
Only 1:51 into the game, Stafford passed from the left circle to
the front of the net for Roy, who poked the puck past Marty Turco
for a 1-0 lead. Roy has a team-high 18 goals.
Without All-Star Sergei Zubov for the fourth straight game
because of a groin injury, Dallas went 0-for-6 with a man
advantage. Zubov, a key to the Stars' power play, is skipping the
All-Star game because of his injury and the team considers him day
to day.
Ryan Miller stopped 18 shots for Buffalo.
Turco had 24 saves for the sporadic Stars, who are 5-4-1 their
last 10 games.
Since a six-game winning streak before Christmas, the Sabres
have had a series of close losses with five overtime losses the
previous 13 games. Their only win in that span was a 10-1 home
victory over Atlanta.
Buffalo appeared to have a 2-0 lead midway through the second
period before Vanek's power-play goal was disallowed. Vanek
deflected the puck past Turco by reaching out and then above
shoulder level with his stick, and one of the officials quickly
called for a review.
Dallas got even at 1-1 late in the second period when Mattias
Norstrom set up Stu Barnes' eighth goal of the season.
Mike Ribeiro, the Stars' leading scorer who is replacing Zubov
on the All-Star roster, was in front of the net with about 10
seconds left in the game but couldn't get a handle on the puck for
a final shot.
Already sporting two black eyes from fights in previous games,
Stars right wing Krystofer Barch got into drawn-out scuffle with
Andrew Peters. Barch took several more shots to the face and got in
a few jabs as well.
Dallas was making a line change in the second period when Peters
got checked hard in open ice by Steve Ott and flipped over. The two
glared at each other, and Ott eventually went to the bench. But
Barch came on the ice and instigated the fight, drawing a 10-minute
misconduct penalty.
Notes: The Sabres played in Dallas for the first time since
March 2003 and there were plenty of fans chanting "Let's go
Buffalo!" ... When the Stars came out for pregame warmups, they
were greeted by the Prince song "1999" - a clear reference to the
year they won the Stanley Cup in a six-game series against Buffalo.
... Buffalo has four games left on a season-long seven-game road
trip after the All-Star break. ... Ribeiro's assist streak ended at
four games.

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