• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Vanek, Miller star as Sabres dominate Capitals

Nov 2, 2008 - 2:18 AM BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- Thomas Vanek continued his hot start to the season by scoring twice and Ryan Miller stopped all 29 shots he faced as the Buffalo Sabres recorded three first-period goals and cruised to a 5-0 triumph over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Jason Pominville recorded a goal and an assist and Derek Roy and Daniel Paille also tallied for Buffalo, which won for the first time in four games (1-2-1).

Defenseman Andrej Sekera notched two assists and Tim Connolly also set up a goal after missing the Sabres' first 10 games of the season with an injured back.

"It feels great. That's why I put in all the hard work on and off the ice," Connolly said. "It was great to be out there. Great crowd, overall a great game for our team to get back on track."

Miller stopped seven shots in the first period, 14 in the second and eight in the third for his first shutout of the season and eighth career.

"It was a lot better than the two games prior," Miller said of Buffalo's two regulation losses. "We definitely were sharper tonight.

"We started off really well. For us to get a lead and play with it and protect it, battle through some penalty kills, that's going to do more for us in the long run than battling back every night. You can't live that way."

Jose Theodore turned aside 22 shots for Washington, which played its second consecutive game without superstar Alex Ovechkin. The reigning Art Ross, Maurice Richard and Hart Trophy winner, Ovechkin still is in his native Russia visiting his ailing grandfather.

The league leader in goals with 11, Vanek did not waste any time giving the Sabres the advantage, tallying just 72 seconds into the contest.

The Austrian accepted a feed from Sekera and skated into the offensive zone. Vanek then used his body to fend off defenseman Mike Green before slipping the puck between the pads of Theodore.

"It's a play I've been working at because it's tough to turn around. A lot of defensemen have a good stick and it's a good way to get the puck on the net," Vanek said. "When you get it on the net, you never know what happens. I feel pretty good about my game right now. I still want to get to the next level, and there's still a ways to go."

"He kind of got a step on me there, made a really good move," Green said. "I went to poke-check the puck and he put it in close and got a shot off. It was my fault, I should have had it."

Roy doubled the Sabres' advantage with 6:47 remaining in the first period.

With Buffalo on a power play, Pominville fed Roy, who wristed a shot from a sharp angle that banked off Theodore's back and into the net for his second goal of the season.

After Pominville gave the Sabres a three-goal bulge with 24 seconds remaining in the session, Vanek upped the advantage to 4-0 by skating up the right wing and tucking the puck past Theodore with three seconds remaining in the second period.

"I don't know why this is happening, but you can definitely tell that there were some guys not ready to play tonight, and it's unacceptable," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said.

"We got some great players, but Mike Green wasn't ready to play and Sasha (Alexander Semin) didn't come to play, and you can go on with some of our skilled players not ready to commit to playing a complete game. You're gonna be in trouble, and tonight, we were in trouble."

Paille capped the scoring with 8:01 remaining in the third, executing a give-and-go with Patrick Kaleta before deflecting the puck into the net for his second goal of the campaign.