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Drury, Afinogenov help Sabres extend winning streak

Oct 22, 2006 - 1:46 AM BOSTON (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Sabres remained undefeated and did it in impressive fashion.

Maxim Afinogenov continued his torrid scoring pace with a goal and an assist to lead the Sabres to a 6-2 victory over the Boston Bruins that kept them perfect after eight games.

Chris Drury had two goals and defenseman Brian Campbell added three assists for the Sabres, who extended their franchise-record unbeaten streak to 13 games.

"(Drury's) play has been great," Buffalo goaltender Martin Biron said. "He's an all-around leader. A lot of guys have taken that attitude because of a guy like him. He's a proven winner and he knows what it takes. Tonight, he got big goals for us on the power play and that's always a big part of the game. He does it all."

Meanwhile, Afinogenov has three goals and seven assists in his last three games.

"We're just working hard," Afinogenov said. "You don't get the puck on net for no reason. It's fun when the team is winning, that's the most important thing for us. All the lines can put the puck in right now and all the lines are dangerous right now. That's why we're winning."

The Sabres (8-0-0), the NHL's only remaining unbeaten club, held a 2-1 lead early in the second period when Afinogenov quickly went to work.

He helped set up Jason Pominville's power-play tally for a 3-1 lead at 1:17, then scored his fifth goal when he beat Boston goaltender Hannu Toivonen at 2:56. Toivonen, who stopped only 13 of 17 shots, was replaced by Tim Thomas.

"The power-play goals were the ones that hurt us," Boston coach Dave Lewis said. "I thought we had a real strong first period, but I just didn't think we had the depth they had. We got beat by a really good hockey team that's right on top of their game. They just come wave after wave after wave."

Biron made 24 saves for Buffalo, which went 3-for-7 on the power play.

Defenseman Wade Brookbank scored and Phil Kessel - the fifth overall selection in this year's draft - netted his first career tally for Boston.

The Sabres also tied a franchise record with eight straight victories to open the season, matching the 1975-76 club.

"I think we're definitely enjoying it," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "You enjoy it for that little period of time after games where you reflect on the game. You do enjoy it, and when you have a group that's playing the way it's playing and everything is clicking, it's fun to watch."