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Sabres, Thrashers meet in battle of division leaders

Feb 6, 2007 - 4:49 PM Buffalo (35-15-4) at Atlanta (29-18-8) 7:00 pm EST

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Sabres and Atlanta Thrashers clash in a meeting of division leaders on Tuesday.

The Sabres' 74 points leads the Northeast Division by 10 points over the Montreal Canadiens while the Thrashers have 66 points and a six-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Southeast Division.

Buffalo, which is 4-6-1 in its last 11 games, also leads the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of New Jersey despite a 3-2 loss to the Devils on Saturday.

Prior to the weekend setback, the Sabres twice defeated the Boston Bruins in a home-and-home series by a combined 10-2 score.

Buffalo center Daniel Briere, who recorded three goals and two assists in the sweep of the Bruins, had his seven-game points streak snapped against the Devils. The center still has five goals and eight assists in his last eight games.

The Thrashers are 1-3-0 in their last four decisions, including two disappointing losses against the Philadelphia Flyers, the worst team in the NHL.

The Flyers defeated the Thrashers, 5-2, on Saturday despite Ilya Kovalchuk's 30th goal of the season. Kovalchuk has been hot lately with seven goals in his last six games.

Buffalo and Atlanta have split the two meetings this season, with the Sabres posting a 4-1 home win on December 30. This will be the first game at Atlanta in the series.