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Roy helps Sabres end skid, edge Bruins

Nov 27, 2008 - 4:03 AM BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- Derek Roy scored two goals and the Buffalo Sabres snapped a five-game losing streak by edging the Boston Bruins, 3-2, on Wednesday.

Jochen Hecht added a shorthanded goal and helped the Sabres win for the fourth time in their last 14 games.

Ryan Miller entered having yielded 12 goals on 92 shots in three losses to Boston this season, but turned aside 27 shots in this one - including 13 in the second period.

"There was a lot of good energy," Miller said. "That's what it's going to take to beat the top teams in our division. We have to make up a little bit of ground after the last two weeks. It's good to get these big points at home."

Boston coach Claude Julien refused to label this loss as a bad one, though.

"If you look at it (like it's the end of the world), you are going to get yourself in trouble," Julien said. "I think the thing right now to take from this game, we for two periods didn't quite match their game. We tried to battle back in the third and came up a little short.

"We got better as the game went on, after a poor first where we didn't match their effort and determination."

Rookie defenseman Matt Hunwick and Phil Kessel tallied for the Bruins, whose four-game win streak came to an end. Boston also lost for just the second time in its last 11 contests and the first time in regulation since a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on October 30.

Roy opened the scoring midway into the first period, stealing the puck from David Krejci and firing a hard wrister past Tim Thomas.

"It's just natural, with the way things have gone to tighten up," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "You can see some guys were tightening up a little bit. Everybody was playing on the safe side. That's tough.

"It's tough to get on your toes when we've been going the way we've been going, but at the start of the game and for the most part of the second period, I liked a lot of the things we did."

Coming off a 32-goal and 81-point effort in 2007-08, Roy struck again for his sixth tally of the season with 83 seconds left in the session.

"You need a game where the bounces go your way and you're working hard as a team," Roy said. "I always say you've got to be good to be lucky. We were good tonight, we worked hard and we got a lucky bounce."

Hunwick halved Boston's deficit 4:31 into the second after collecting a loose puck in front of the net and lifting it over Miller's shoulder. The rookie extended his points streak to five games and has three goals and three assists during that span.

Hecht fired a slap shot that initially hit Thomas' glove, but fell into the open net to give the Sabres a 3-1 lead just 30 seconds after Hunwick tallied.

"(Boston captain and defenseman Zdeno) Chara hesitated for a second and I chipped it by him and got going," Hecht said. "I saw (Jason Pominville) coming down the middle but they put back pressure on him, so I decided just to shoot it. Usually I take wrist shots, this time I decided for a slap shot and it went in. I didn't aim very much, I just closed my eyes and shot it as hard as I could."

Kessel extended his points streak to seven games after tapping in a loose puck while sitting on the doorstep, but Miller stopped the other five shots he faced in the period to secure the victory.

Thomas finished with 20 saves, but surrendered more than two goals for the first time in November.

"Things weren't clicking right off the bat, but as the game went on we got more and more into it," Thomas said. "We played with the kind of urgency that we needed, it was just a little too late."