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Briere's Hat Trick Leads Sabres
He scored his third with 8 minutes left in the game, lifting the puck over sprawling goalie Tim Thomas, and became the fifth Buffalo player to record 20 goals this season. The Sabres are the only NHL team with five 20-goal scorers.
Thomas replaced Toivonen to start the third period and finished with 11 saves. Toivonen stopped 17 shots in his third start in five games.
 Buffalo Sabres center Daniel Briere skates away from a stick check by Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron during the first period on Tuesday night. (Don Heupel - AP) |
Glen Murray scored for the Bruins, who lost their seventh straight road game. Boston has been outscored 19-3 during a four-game losing streak overall.
"It's a struggle," Bruins coach Dave Lewis said. "It's a situation nobody likes to go through, but hopefully we'll come out stronger."
Buffalo backup Martin Biron, inserted into the nets to give Ryan Miller a break, made 25 saves in winning for the first time since Jan. 6.
Murray cut Boston's deficit to 2-1 with his team-leading 24th. He scored while the Bruins had a two-man advantage. The Sabres then scored five unanswered goals to secure their third win in nine games.
"We've been struggling lately," Pominville said. "It's only one game, but I think we're back on track."
Boston, meanwhile, has been outscored 34-9 during its road skid.
"So many things are not going our way right now," defenseman Zdeno Chara said. "We need that spark, that break. Sometimes that's all you need."
Notes:@ Toivonen relieved Thomas on Monday during the second period of Boston's 6-1 home loss to the New York Rangers. ... Sabres D Henrik Tallinder returned from an ankle injury that forced him to miss 11 games. ... The teams will meet again Thursday in Boston, their fourth matchup in 18 days. ... Boston C David Krejci made his NHL debut after being recalled earlier in the day from Providence of the AHL. He was knocked out of the game with a concussion 5 minutes left in the first period after a hit by Sabres forward Adam Mair. ... Bruins D Andrew Alberts was hit in the face by Brian Campbell's slap shot late in the first and left the ice bloodied. He returned for the second period.
