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Sabres aim to move closer to division, conference titles

Mar 30, 2007 - 3:37 PM NY Islanders (36-28-12) at Buffalo (49-20-7) 8:00 pm EDT

BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Sabres look to move closer to a division and conference title when they host the desperate New York Islanders on Friday.

Buffalo holds a seven-point lead over Ottawa (45-24-8) in the Northwest Division and looks to win its first division title since the 1996-97 season. It also leads New Jersey (45-24-8) by seven points for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Sabres, whose 286 goals are tops in the NHL, are coming off Wednesday's 4-3 win over New Jersey. Daniel Paille, Jochen Hecht and Ales Kotalik scored third-period goals against a New Jersey club that has allowed the fewest amount of goals in the league (193.)

Kotalik's tally was his first after missing 16 contests with a knee injury, and Paille scored in his first game back since missing 15 games with a broken finger.

The Islanders are tied with Carolina (38-31-8) for ninth in the East, two points out of the last playoff spot. They have lost six of eight games, including a 3-2 setback against New Jersey on Tuesday.

Goaltender Rick DiPietro, who missed three games earlier in March with a head injury, missed the contest after complaining of headaches. Alexei Yashin and Jason Blake scored and Mike Dunham made 29 saves.

Dunham has lost four straight starts, allowing 19 goals in that span.