Sabres 2, Devils 1 F/SO



 
NEWARK, N.J. -- Nathan Gerbe scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of a shootout after Ryan Millerthree successive saves during the tiebreaker as Buffalo beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Tuesday night at Prudential Center, ending the Sabres' 12-game road losing streak.

Ilya Kovalchuk gave the Devils the lead in the tiebreaker by beating Miller with the first shot. Martin Brodeur and Miller matched saves until Jason Pominvillesnapped a wrist shot past Brodeur in the third round to tie it. After Miller stopped Adam Henrique, Gerbe beat Brodeur inside the left post for the win.
 
It was the Sabres' first victory away from the First Niagara Center since winning 3-2 in Nashville on Dec. 3. Buffalo had not had a point on the road since then.

Miller was fabulous throughout, stopping 27 shots through 65 minutes. He needs one victory to equal Dominik Hasek's franchise record of 234 career wins.
 
New Jersey had three fabulous opportunities in the opening minute of overtime to end the contest but Miller was equal to the task. Kovalchuk's tip off a 2-on-1 was somehow turned away by Miller just 25 seconds into the extra session. Less than 30 seconds later, Henrique unleashed a snap shot from prime position between the circles that Miller stopped. Zach Parise later barreled down his right wing and broke in on Miller with 1:24 left, but his backhand attempt was no match for Miller.
 
The Devils also had chances to end the game in the third period, when they outshot the Sabres 6-3.Jacob Josefson almost snapped the deadlock with 8:28 left when his snap shot from the slot skittered behind Miller but was stopped short of the goal line by the stick blade of defenseman Jordan Leopold. Henrique had a similar chance with 3:40 left in regulation but his shot from the left circle rang off the long-side post.
 
The Sabres had one grand opportunity with just nine seconds left in the third when Ville Leino's snap shot from in close was denied by Brodeur.
 
Following a listless opening period, the Devils pulled into a 1-1 tie on the power-play when Patrik Elias slipped home his 18th of the season 10:22 into the second. Kurtis Foster's initial shot from the right point hit Tyler Myers before Parise picked up the loose puck and dished to Elias to Miller's left. Myers, who appeared to get hit in the knee with the shot, remained down for several minutes before being helped off the ice and into the Sabres locker room -- though he later returned.
 
Alexei Ponikarovsky barely missed at giving the Devils their first lead after taking a pass and skating through the slot in an attempt to tuck the puck around Miller. The 31-year-old Miller got the tip of his right pad on the shot while doing the splits with less than two minutes left to keep the game even.
 
The Devils outshot the Sabres 12-3 in the second period.
 
The Sabres grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening period when Leopold beat Brodeur at 16:34 following an opportunistic bounce. Gerbe took the initial rip from the top of the left circle that hit the glass behind the cage before deflecting off the back of Brodeur and onto the stick a charging Leopold, who easily snapped home his eighth of the season.