Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter VI Mobile College Basketball March Mayhem Picks College Basketball March Mayhem Picks VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com
Handicapper Bios Sports Picks Free Odds Contests Sportsbook
VI Home NFL NBANHLMLBNCAA FBNCAA BKGolfAutoHorsesBoxingVI More Sports
 
NHL Scores Matchups Teams Standings Schedules Injuries News
 
 · Latest News
 · Player Updates
 · Transactions
Buy Picks Vegas Odds
 
 · Vegas Odds
 · Offshore Odds
 · Future Odds
 
Recap: Avalanche 4, Sabres 3
Line Movements
Date: January 09, 2010 7:00 PM EDT
  

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -Matt Hendricks turned a disappointing third period into a gutty win for the Colorado Avalanche.

Hendricks scored the deciding goal in the 11th round of the shootout, rookie Matt Duchene scored twice in regulation, and the Colorado Avalanche snapped Buffalo's six-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory over the Sabres on Saturday night.

Advertisement

The struggling Avalanche blew a two-goal lead in the final 20 minutes before Hendricks beat Sabres backup goalie Patrick Lalime with a nifty move to give Colorado (25-15-6) just its second victory in the last five games.

After three shooters on each team had scored, Hendricks faked a wrist shot in the slot before going to his backhand to slide the puck in. The move worked out better than it had earlier in the year when Hendricks ultimately fell into Chicago goalie Cristobal Huet after the fake.

``I had a little too much speed the last time,' said Hendricks, who also had an assist on Duchene's first goal. ``Tonight it worked, and we got the win. That's the most important thing.'

Duchene also scored in the shootout, fellow rookie Brandon Yip, playing in just his 10th NHL game, tallied for the fifth time and added an assist, and Craig Anderson made 32 saves for the Avalanche, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Colorado has yet to lose three straight this season.

``It says a lot about the character of our team,' the 18-year-old Duchene said. ``We never got down, and it was a good effort by us.'

Anderson was able to stop Buffalo defenseman Henrik Tallinder right before Hendricks' tally.

``They've got a great offensive team, a lot of firepower, and got momentum,' Anderson said. ``We did a good job of just sticking it out, and didn't panic.'

Buffalo (28-11-5), looking to earn its longest win streak since opening the 2006-07 season with an NHL-record 10 consecutive victories, got goals from Drew Stafford, Thomas Vanek and Jochen Hecht.

Stafford added an assist, and Lalime made 27 saves in the loss.

Down 3-1 after 40 minutes, the Sabres beat Anderson twice on 15 third-period shots, with Hecht sending the game into overtime when his wrist shot got through from the right point with 4:12 left in regulation.

``We battled hard, and came out flying in the third,' said Lalime, who was in search of his 200th career NHL goal. ``That's the way we should play all the time. We had a lot of great chances, but we just didn't close the deal.'

Colorado played without captain Adam Foote, who returned to Denver after injuring his ankle during the second period in Friday's loss to Carolina. Head coach Joe Sacco said that Foote's injury was not as bad as originally thought, and is hoping the defenseman is back skating in a few days.

Duchene opened the scoring 7:35 into the game with a splendid individual effort. After stealing the puck from Tallinder in the right circle, Duchene fed Hendricks in the slot, then received a return pass before flipping the puck over Lalime.

Duchene notched his second of the game, and 13th of the year, with 6:32 left in the first period, jamming home a loose puck in the crease.

Stafford made it 2-1 with a power-play goal with 2:55 remaining in the second period, but Yip gave Colorado its two-goal lead back 62 seconds later when his wrist shot from the right circle eluded Lalime.

Vanek scored midway through the third period to cut the deficit to 3-2.

``It's always a good point when you battle back,' Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. ``If you have energy in the third, you should have energy in the first. I wasn't happy with the first period, but we responded well for some of the things we did poorly early in the game.'

NOTES: The 11 shootout rounds tied for the most in the NHL this season, and the seven combined goals scored in the shootout tied a league record, done on 10 other occasions. ... Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles returned after missing one game because of flu-like symptoms. ... The Sabres open a season-long seven-game road trip on Thursday in Atlanta. ... Buffalo is 7-0-3 at home since Dec. 9. ... No Avalanche player has recorded a hat trick since Milan Hejduk scored three times against St. Louis in December 2007. ... Tim Connolly extended his career-high points streak to nine games with an assist on Hecht's goal.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2012
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 CLOSING LAS VEGAS LINE
 Team  ML   PUC   O/U 
 COL         
 BUF        
LAS VEGAS LINE MOVEMENTS

 CLOSING SPORTSBOOK LINE
 Team  ML   PUC   O/U 
 COL  +140      +5.5 
 BUF  -160      
OFFSHORE LINE MOVEMENTS

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   PUC   O/U 
 COL  62%   85%   10% 
 BUF  38%   15%   90% 
BT MOVEMENTS

 NHL RECAPS
 Saturday, Jan 9
 
  •  Rangers at Bruins
1:05 PM EDT
  •  Lightning at Flyers
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Avalanche at Sabres
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Devils at Canadiens
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Panthers at Senators
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Penguins at Maple Leafs
7:05 PM EDT
  •  Islanders at Coyotes
8:05 PM EDT
  •  Ducks at Predators
8:05 PM EDT
  •  Blackhawks at Wild
8:05 PM EDT
  •  Flames at Canucks
10:05 PM EDT
  •  Blues at Kings
10:35 PM EDT
  •  Red Wings at Sharks
10:35 PM EDT
 
 
 
  
GOLD Membership
Receive a 20% discount on all Daily Picks. Signup Today!
 
 
Las Vegas Travel
 
 

NFL
NFL Picks
NFL Odds
NFL Matchups
NFL Scores

NBA
NBA Picks
NBA Odds
NBA Matchups
NBA Scores

MLB
MLB Picks
MLB Odds
MLB Matchups
MLB Scores


NCAA FB
NCAA FB Picks
NCAA FB Odds
NCAA FB Matchups
NCAA FB Scores

NCAA BK
NCAA BK Picks
NCAA BK Odds
NCAA BK Matchups
NCAA BK Scores

NHL
NHL Picks
NHL Odds
NHL Matchups
NHL Scores


More Sports
Golf
Auto Racing
Horse Racing
Boxing
UFC
WNBA
Soccer

Features
Free Odds
Mobile Odds
Contests
Newsletters
VI Radio
Las Vegas Travel
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Facebook


Sports Betting Tools
Live Odds
Parlay Calculator
Gaming Terms
TV Listings
Handicapping Records
Sportsbook Reviews

VegasInsider Info
About Us
Help Center
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Contact Us
User Feedback

Sportsbooks
BetOnline.ag
Bodog.ca
Bookmaker
Bovada.lv
SBG Global.eu
Sportsbook
TopBet.com

Rotation Schedules
Baseball:

 
Mar 28 - June 5

Copyright © 1997-2012, VegasInsider.com Inc., The Global Leader In Sports Gaming Information. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-211-4759.