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Sabres eye second straight win, face Islanders

Oct 13, 2008 - 10:43 AM UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Sabres will vie for their second consecutive victory to begin the 2008-09 campaign when they visit the New York Islanders on Monday afternoon. Buffalo opened the new season with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. Ales Kotalik and Drew Stafford scored during the bonus session and goaltender Ryan Miller denied both shooters to preserve the victory. Thomas Vanek tallied in the first period and Miller made 27 saves for Buffalo, which improved to 21-14-3 in season-opening contests. The Sabres are coming off a disappointing season where they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004. After dropping the season opener at the New Jersey Devils, the Islanders bounced back with a 5-2 triumph against the St. Louis Blues in their home opener on Saturday. Five different goal scorers tallied in the victory for New York, which has been without starting goaltender Rick DiPietro to start the season. The netminder is recovering from offseason knee surgery. The 27-year-old is coming off a sub-par season where he went 26-28-7 with a 2.82 goals-against average.