Buffalo Sabres

Marian Hossa has come up with a handful of big goals. Duncan Keith leads a group of solid defensemen, and each of the goalies has played really well. This is the best start in the proud history of the Chicago Blackhawks, and it could become the NHL's best ever Friday when they host the San Jose Sharks. The Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3, in a shootout Tuesday to give them 16 straight games with at least one point, matching the league record to start a season. It was the third straight win for the Blackhawks (13-0-3)

RON ROLSTON will finish out the season as the Buffalo Sabres interim coach, taking over hours after Lindy Ruff was fired Wednesday amid growing criticism for the team's slow start. Rolston was in his second season as coach of AHL Rochester, the Sabres' minor league affiliate. And he has long-tenured shoes to fill in replacing Ruff, who became the franchise's winningest coach over 16 seasons. The change comes a day after the Sabres were booed off the ice during a 2-1 loss to Winnipeg, and after Ruff had finished overseeing a 90-minute practice in preparation for Buffalo's game at Toronto on Thursday.

THOMAS VANEK had three goals and two assists, setting up the tiebreaking score with 13:06 left in the third period, to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 7-4 victory over the Bruins in Boston Thursday night. Vanek opened the scoring 98 seconds into the game, then had a goal and an assist to tie it after Boston took a 3-1 lead in the second. The Bruins went up 4-3 in the third before Alexander Sulzer tied it on a wrister from the faceoff circle, and then Vanek helped give Buffalo the lead when he kept the puck in the zone, faked a shot and slid it over to Cody Hodgson for the game-winner.

BUFFALO - The Flyers allowed three power-play goals in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, saw two of their own goals erased by the referee, and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2008. No, this isn't how they envisioned the start of the lockout-delayed season. "It's definitely no time to hit the panic button," said defenseman Luke Schenn, who was in the penalty box for two of the Sabres' power-play goals at the sold-out First Niagara Center. "Obviously, you want to get off to a better start . . . but we have a lot of games coming up, and no point dwelling on it. Learn from it and go forward and get better.

The Washington Capitals welcomed back Nicklas Backstrom and took a big step toward the playoffs Saturday night, blowing a two-goal lead for the second game in a rowbefore taking the shootout for a 3-2 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. The result, coupled with Toronto's 4-3 win over Buffalo, moved the Capitals two points clear of the Sabres with three games to play. Washington also moved within two points of Southeast Division leader Florida.   Devils clinch playoff slot Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists, Martin Brodeur made 22 saves in his third shutout of the season, and the New Jersey Devils clinched a playoff berth by routing the host Carolina Hurricanes, 5-0. Brodeur's 119th career shutout moved him one victory from another NHL record.

  Daniel Alfredsson had two goals and two assists, and the host Ottawa Senators dealt Pittsburgh its first regulation loss in 15 games, beating the Penguins, 8-4, Saturday night. Sidney Crosby scored his first goal in six games since making his second comeback of the season, but it wasn't enough as Pittsburgh fell to 13-1-1 since a 6-2 loss in Buffalo on Feb. 19. Pittsburgh dropped three points behind the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. The Penguins have eight games left, and New York seven.

Jamie McGinn forced overtime by scoring with 2 seconds left in regulation, and Peter Mueller netted the lone shootout goal in the Colorado Avalanche's 5-4 win over the host Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. McGinn scored twice, Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and assist, and David Jones scored for the Avalanche, who vaulted out of a four-way tie for eighth place in the Western Conference to sixth. Rookie Marcus Foligno scored twice for Buffalo, which inched within three points of eighth-place Washington in the East.

Tyler Myers scored 2 minutes, 1 second into overtime to lift the host Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. Buffalo (33-29-8) improved to 9-2-2 in their past 13 games and jumped ahead of Winnipeg into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Washington in the race for the final playoff spot.   Hawks extend Carcillo The Chicago Blackhawks agreed to a two-year contract extension with forward Daniel Carcillo. The 26-year-old Carcillo tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a game against Edmonton on Jan. 2 and won't play again this season.

Marek Zidlicky and David Clarkson scored 14 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the third period to rally the New Jersey Devils past the host New York Islanders, 2-1, Saturday night. New Jersey (39-24-5), which won two of three from the Islanders during the week, has three consecutive victories and wins in four of five. The Devils are 4-1-1 in their last six games and have allowed one goal or fewer in five straight games. Sabres top Senators Tyler Ennis scored in regulation and then added the winning goal in the shootout to give the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 victory over the host Ottawa Senators.

Pascal Dupuis scored twice and had an assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied at home to beat the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, on Wednesday night for their seventh consecutive victory. Jordan Staal added a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to a career-best six games and rookie Brad Thiessen stopped 22 shots. The Penguins started the day by unveiling a statue honoring Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux outside Consol Energy Center. The three-time MVP, now the team owner, watched from his box as Pittsburgh won for the 11th time in its last 12 home games to strengthen its hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference.