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Sabres seek 12th win in 13 road games vs. Capitals

Dec 2, 2006 - 4:46 PM Buffalo (20-3-2) at Washington (10-9-6) 8:00 pm EST

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has been able to depend on a variety of weapons in an outstanding opening to the season.

Ruff looks to guide the Sabres to their 12th win 13 road games Saturday when they open a five-game road trip against the Washington Capitals in the first of four encounters in 2006-2007.

Continuing the best start in franchise history, Buffalo is the first team to win 20 games this season and the fifth to open a season with 20 victories in its first 25 outings. The Sabres are 8-2-1 in their last 11 contests.

Daniel Briere netted the shootout clincher, captain Chris Drury scored his 15th goal and netminder Ryan Miller raised his record to 13-2-2 for Buffalo, who completed a season sweep of the New York Rangers with Friday's 4-3 win.

After losing six consecutive games, the Capitals have begun to rediscover their winning ways by capturing their last two contests. They have scored nine goals in the victories to match their total during the entire losing streak.

Chris Clark and Alexander Semin scored power-play tallies and Olaf Kolzig 35 saves for his first career victory over the Dallas Stars in Thursday's 4-3 triumph.

Buffalo has won the last three meetings against Washington, including a 6-4 victory March 14. The Sabres have won their last four contests here since February 26, 2003.