Plauderecke » Tyson Jost and the speedy Colorado Avalanche

BUFFALO Carl Soderberg Jersey , N.Y. (AP) Tyson Jost and the speedy Colorado Avalanche caught the Buffalo Sabres flatfooted through most of the first 50 minutes on Sunday night.By the time the Sabres could recover, the Avalanche built what proved to be an insurmountable lead in hanging on for a 5-4 victory.”We’re a young, fast team. That’s part of our identity this year,” center Tyson Jost said. ”I like what we did that today, so that’s something we have to use to our advantage because we do have young legs.”The Avalanche ran circles around the Sabres – and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen in particular – by building a 3-1 lead through the 1:07 mark of the second period on Colin Wilson’s goal.Then, Jost and Gabriel Bourque sealed the win by converting rebounds less than four minutes apart to build the Avalanche lead to 5-2 with 12:57 remaining in a game Colorado never trailed.Wilson had a goal and assist, Matt Nieto scored on a short-handed breakaway and Alexander Kerfoot opened the scoring in the first minute.Jonathan Bernier stopped 28 shots and the Avalanche won for the third time in nine games (3-5-1) to keep pace in a tightly contested race for the Western Conference’s final two wild card spots. The Avalanche now have 64 points, just two behind Minnesota for the last playoff position.Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and two assists in Buffalo’s first game without leading scorer Jack Eichel, who will miss between four and six weeks with a sprained right ankle. Eichel was hurt in a 4-2 win at Boston on Saturday.Eichel’s absence wasn’t the issue for the Sabres. They were instead undone by a meltdown from their top defenseman Gabriel Landeskog Jersey Kids , Ristolainen, who was on the ice for all five Colorado goals.The trouble began when Kerfoot scored 43 seconds in by tapping in Wilson’s pass on a two-man breakaway after both sneaked in behind Ristolainen and Nathan Beaulieu. Nieto’s short-handed goal that put Colorado up 2-1 came after Ristolainen muffed on keeping the puck in at the Avalanche blue line.Then Wilson’s 100th career goal was set up by captain Gabriel Landeskog, who forced Ristolainen to give up the puck in his own zone.”It’s just a bad game and it should not happen,” said Ristolainen, who was benched for much of the remainder of the second period.Coach Phil Housley didn’t mince words when asked about the defenseman’s struggles.”I think you saw the game,” Housley said. ”I think there’s some passengers tonight that weren’t prepared to play the game.”Evander Kane capped Buffalo’s scoring with 2:52 remaining. Casey Nelson and Benoit Pouliot scored short-handed goals and Robin Lehner stopped 22 shots for Buffalo.The Avalanche made up for the absence of their leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon, who missed his sixth game with an upper body injury.The five goals against Buffalo matched Colorado’s combined output in going 1-3 in its previous four outings.”At times, it was a little bit of a strange game http://www.officialavalanche.com/authentic-adidas-j.t.-compher-jersey ,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of an outing in which the teams combined for three short-handed and two power-play goals. ”It wasn’t pretty, but it’s a big win for our team, no question.”Bednar said MacKinnon has been skating at home and has a chance to return soon.NOTES: The three short-handed combined goals scored wasn’t even a season-high for a Sabres game. Buffalo and the New York Islanders combined for two each in a Sabres’ 6-3 loss on Oct. 17. … Colorado played its 1,500th road game in team history and 2,999th overall, including the franchise’s tenure as the Quebec Nordiques. The Avs improved their all-time road record to 599-714-64 and 123 ties. … Sabres top defensive prospect Brendan Guhle returned to action with AHL Rochester after missing nearly a month with a lower body injury.UP NEXTAvalanche: Return home where they’ve won nine straight (one shy of matching franchise record) to host the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.Sabres: Host Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.— SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) James Reimer found a great way to celebrate his 30th birthday: He tied a season high with 46 saves to lead the Florida Panthers over the Boston Bruins 3-0 on Thursday night.”If that’s what happens on my birthday, I’ll take it every day,” Reimer said.Making his first start in six games Youth Matt Nieto Jersey , Reimer earned his third shutout of the season. Nick Bjugstad had a goal and an assist, and Vincent Trocheck and Aaron Ekblad also scored. Evgenii Dadonov added two assists.Florida moved within three points of idle New Jersey for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers, who have won 11 of 13 at home, have two games in hand on the Devils.”It’s nice to get in a groove, get in a rhythm, when you haven’t played in a long time,” Reimer said. ”It’s big. We’re trying to catch some teams. We’ve got games in hand, which is nice, but those games are useless if you don’t win them.”Anton Khudobin stopped 25 shots for the Bruins Mikko Rantanen Jersey , shut out for the first time since their second game of the season, a 4-0 loss to Colorado on Oct. 9. The Bruins are four points behind Atlantic Division leader Tampa Bay, with one game in hand on the Lightning.”Give them credit, their goaltender credit, but sometimes it bounces your way, sometimes it doesn’t,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.The Panthers stretched their lead to 3-0 on a power-play goal by Trocheck with 5:53 left in the second period. Trocheck’s shot from the right circle went top shelf shot over Khudobin. Trocheck leads the team with 27 goals.”We’ve been in this situation before and you’re expecting that we’re going to be back in the game,” Khudobin said. ”But, unfortunately this wasn’t that day.”Aleksander Barkov’s assist gave him 70 points Nathan MacKinnon Jersey , making him the first Panthers player since Olli Jokinen (71) in 2007-08 with 70 points in a season.”I’ve got to thank my teammates for setting me up and playing really well with me,” Barkov said. ”I wouldn’t be there without them, but we still have 14 games left and all I think about is getting wins and getting to the playoffs.”The division foes will play three more times this season, and the game had the feel of a must-win for the Panthers.”With the race we’re in and the time left in the season, we couldn’t afford to lose two in a row, and we’re going on the road,” coach Bob Boughner said. ”It was important to get back in the win column and get some points on the board.”Ekblad made it 1-0 at 6:25 of the first when he swatted in a rebound out of midair past Khudobin. Dadonov made a cross-ice pass to Bjugstad in front and he pushed in the puck to make it 2-0 at 9:06.Bruins forward David Backes was assessed a match penalty for a first-period hit from behind on Trocheck. Backes didn’t agree with the call.”But it’s one of those things I can’t do anything about,” he said. ”I watched the rest of the game when I wished I could help my teammates win a game against a good team.”NOTES: Bruins D Zdeno Chara and LW Jake DeBrusk both missed the game with upper-body injuries sustained in Tuesday’s 6-4 win at Carolina. Boston recalled forward Anton Blidh and defenseman Paul Postma from Providence of the AHL. … Panthers D Alexander Petrovic was scratched with a lower-body injury. … C Frank Vatrano faced his former team for the first time since being traded from the Bruins to the Panthers on Feb. 22.UP NEXTBruins: Visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.Panthers: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.—