Stars 4 - 3 Sabres
Final
  for this game

Ruff's return is sweet as Stars down Sabres

Oct 29, 2013 - 2:52 AM Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Tyler Seguin notched a goal and an assist to help make Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff's return to Buffalo a successful one, as the Stars edged the Sabres, 4-3, on Monday at First Niagara Center.

Ruff served as head coach of the Sabres from 1997-2013, making him the longest tenured coach in franchise history. That run ended, however, when Ruff was fired on Feb. 20 of last season and replaced with Ron Rolston.

"It's kind of a huge relief," Ruff said of getting the win in his return to Buffalo. "It felt really strange coming back. I've always said the fans of Western New York and this area have been tremendous."

Ruff's new squad entered Monday's meeting having lost five of their last seven games, but got goals from Jamie Benn, Alex Goligoski and Vernon Fiddler to get back in the win column.

Kari Lehtonen backstopped the victory with 22 saves.

Matt Moulson potted a pair of goals in his debut with the Sabres, who acquired the 29-year-old forward, along with a pair of draft picks, from the New York Islanders on Sunday in exchange for forward Thomas Vanek.

"He did a good job," Rolston said of Moulson making his debut. "He's a hockey player."

Steve Ott also lit the lamp and Ryan Miller allowed all four goals on 29 shots for Buffalo, which fell to 0-7-1 at home this season.

Benn's backhander from a tough angle on the low right side staked the Stars to a 4-1 lead at the 10:55 mark of the middle stanza, but Buffalo answered with back-to-back goals to trim the margin to one heading into the third period.

Ott's power-play marker made it a 4-2 game just under two minutes after Benn's goal before Moulson scored his second of the night to bring Buffalo within one, as he backhanded a rebound past Miller with 2:43 left in the second.

Dallas then killed off a pair of penalties in the third to keep the margin at one, with Lehtonen turning away all nine shots he faced in the frame to secure the victory for the Stars.

Fiddler opened the scoring 2:59 into the game when he put home a rebound from the low right side, but Moulson answered 27 seconds later with a one-timer from between the circles off an odd-man rush.

The Stars had the final say in the frame, however, scoring a pair of goals in a 1:12 span late in the frame to take a two-goal cushion after 20 minutes.

After Ott was whistled for a pair of minors at 13:48 to give Dallas a four- minute power play, Goligoski took a slick one-touch feed from Valeri Nichushkin and skated into the right circle before rifling a shot high over Miller for a 2-1 lead at 16:40.

Seguin scored off a Buffalo turnover just over a minute later to make it 3-1 after the first period.

Game Notes

Dallas hadn't won a regular-season game in Buffalo since Oct. 7, 1997 ... Moulson's two-goal game was the first multi-goal effort for a Buffalo player this season ... Vanek had played all nine of his NHL seasons for Buffalo since it drafted him No. 5 overall in 2003, scoring 254 goals with 243 assists in 598 games ... Both teams finished 1-for-3 on the power play.






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