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Sports

Avs get back on track with win in Buffalo

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Coming off their first loss of the season, the Colorado Avalanche rebounded with a 4-2 victory over the lowly Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center.

Ryan O'Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny each scored for Colorado, which had its season-opening win streak end at six games with a 4-2 home loss to Detroit on Thursday. The Avalanche finished just shy of matching the 1985-86 Quebec Nordiques' 7-0 start for the best in franchise history.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 28 saves, including 15 in the third period, when the Sabres came out with much more jump. They got a goal from Marcus Foligno 65 seconds into the third, but couldn't overcome the hole their sluggish play dug in the first 40 minutes.

"We knew that they were going to be desperate," said Giguere. "They can still turn their season around and we wanted to come out with a strong effort against a team needing a win. I thought we did a good job."

Cody Hodgson also scored for the Sabres, who fell to 1-8-1 this year. Ryan Miller allowed all four goals on 26 shots.

"I think we came on strong later and started playing with the puck more," said Hodgson. "We know we can play, but we just have to stop getting behind the eight-ball so early."

The Avalanche built a 2-0 first-period lead on goals scored by O'Reilly and Landeskog.

Following a faceoff win in the Buffalo zone, Duchene fed O'Reilly for a one- timer on the doorstep at the 8:44 mark. Landeskog lit the lamp 3:13 later, splitting the two defensemen and putting the puck into an open net on a wraparound.

Colorado opened the second period on a power play and Duchene was credited with a tally at the 56-second mark as O'Reilly's rebound putback caromed off him and fluttered past Miller.

Hodgson then put the Sabres on the board by ripping a slap shot past Giguere's glove at 5:31 of the middle stanza, but Stastny restored Colorado's three-goal advantage 3:03 later. He capped a dominant shift against the disjointed Sabres by potting his first goal of the season.

Game Notes

The Avalanche notched their sixth straight win against Buffalo, which hasn't won in this series since Dec. 4, 2005 ... The Sabres have now been outscored 13-1 in the first period of games this season ... Buffalo defenseman Nikita Zadorov made his NHL debut.