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Sabres blank Sharks; Ruff nets 500th win

Jan 7, 2011 - 8:10 AM San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - Ryan Miller stopped all 36 shots he faced to record his third shutout of the season in Buffalo's 3-0 victory over San Jose at HP Pavilion.

Jochen Hecht, Thomas Vanek and Luke Adam tallied for the Sabres, who have won three of their last four and provided Lindy Ruff with his 500th career win as a head coach.

Ruff, who was hired prior to the 1997-98 season, is by far the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL and tied legendary Montreal Canadiens coach Toe Blake for third on the all-time list of wins with one team.

Antero Niittymaki allowed all three goals on 22 shots for the Sharks, losers in two straight and four of six.

Adam got the Sabres on the board just after the midway point of the first period when he backhanded a rebound over Niittymaki.

It was 2-0 for the visitors at 16:36 as Hecht emerged from a scrum along the right boards with the puck, skated between the circles and unleashed a successful wrister.

Vanek's power-play score at 3:31 of the second period effectively sealed the outcome for Buffalo.

Jordan Leopold's slap pass from the left point found Drew Stafford behind the San Jose net, and his quick pass into the slot was one-timed home by Vanek for his 16th goal of the season.

"We give up the first [goal] because we're soft, the second one because we cheat, and the third one -- we must have spent 10 or 15 minutes in practice on that exact play and it comes back to bite us. So that sums up the game," a frustrated Todd McLellan said of his Sharks.

Miller halted 12 shots in the first period, turned away 13 in the middle 20 minutes then finished his whitewash by saving 11 shots in the third.

Game Notes

Buffalo has taken six of the eight meetings with San Jose since February, 2004...Miller recorded his 20th career shutout...The Sharks were blanked for the sixth time this season and for the third time at home...Ruff is the 16th man in league history to reach the 500-win plateau. He ranks second all-time in games coached for one franchise with 1,024...Former New York Islanders head coach Al Arbour ranks first in both categories with 1,500 games coached and 740 victories...Chicago Blackhawks former head coach Billy Reay is second on the all-time list for wins with one team at 516.