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Seven Sabres score in rout of Hurricanes

Dec 2, 2007 - 5:31 AM By Dave Whalen PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Sabres scored twice in the first 4:18 of the game and never looked back, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes, 8-1, on Saturday for their sixth win in seven games.

Ales Kotalik netted a pair of goals and Ryan Miller just missed his second shutout of the season by allowing a goal with 1:55 to play for the Sabres.

Kotalik opened the scoring 92 seconds into the first period, when he snapped a shot from the top of the left faceoff past surprised goaltender John Grahame. It was Kotalik's sixth goal of the season but first at even strength.

"The first period, we were able to score two goals early, and that set the pace of the game. It looks easy, but it wasn't," Kotalik said. "We were able to extend the lead and the game just slipped away from them."

Tim Connolly followed with a power-play goal 2:46 later, firing a rising slap shot over the left shoulder of Grahame.

"They came out with the jump," Grahame said. "It's their home ice, they hadn't played, they were ready for that. Obviously, we weren't ready for that. You all saw what happened out there. They just kept coming at us and at us. Anytime you let eight goals in, you're not doing something right."

Buffalo added two more in a span of 56 seconds late in the second period. Paul Gaustad won a faceoff in the offensive zone and found Adam Mair, who tallied from the doorstep for a 3-0 lead.

Mair was making his return to the lineup after missing 10 games with an ankle injury.

Maxim Afinogenov snapped a 12-game drought with a rising slap shot from 40 feet out, beating Grahame over his right shoulder with 3:32 left in the second period.

Buffalo added four more tallies in the third period to seal the victory.

Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek scored on breakaways, with Roy's coming while shorthanded 76 seconds into the session. Vanek's seventh of the season initially was waved off, but video replay showed it hit the left goalpost and ricocheted off the center bar inside the net before coming out.

Kotalik added a power-play goal and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek closed out the scoring with eight minutes left.

"Tonight, all the rebounds went on our stick, every shot went in", Spacek said. "Sometimes you have to lose the game to win another five or six in a row. I think we learned from the mistakes we had against St. Louis (on Wednesday). I think we played a great game today."

Miller made 20 saves, with his best being a glove stop on Matt Cullen from in close halfway through the second period.

Ray Whitney scored Carolina's only tally on the power play with 1:55 remaining.

"It got away in the third, but I thought each goal that went in, we lost a little bit of steam," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "It was 2-0 at the end of the first and we were still battling. Then it was 4-0, and by the time the third rolled around, we were just not playing very well."