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Sabres look to open season with sixth straight win

Oct 17, 2006 - 1:49 PM Philadelphia (1-3-1) at Buffalo (5-0-0) 7:00 pm EDT

BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- After losing Game Seven of last spring's Eastern Conference finals, the Buffalo Sabres have opened the new campaign with a vengeance.

The Sabres look to tie the franchise record with their 11th consecutive regular season win and be the first team with six triumphs this season in Tuesday's battle with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Off to their first 5-0-0 start since 1975-1976, Buffalo has joined the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars as the league's only teams with perfect records this season. The Sabres also won 11 in a row from April 1-October 26, 1975.

Chris Drury collected three goals, including two on power plays, and added an assist as Buffalo rallied from a two-goal deficit in Saturday's 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers.

The Sabres have outscored their opponents, 45-20, during their winning streak and won three of the four matchups against Philadelphia last season.

The Flyers have scored just 11 goals in their first five games and moved Kyle Calder to the line with Peter Forsberg and Simon Gagne in Monday's practice in an effort to shake things up. Forsberg and Mike Knuble share the team lead with six points.

Knuble scored twice for Philadelphia, which failed to hold a second-period lead in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

The teams are meeting for the first time since Buffalo defeated Philadelphia in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in April.