NHL: Islanders steal one in Buffalo to even series at 1-1

April 14, 2007

''Series tied at 1-1. (Best of Seven)''

After trashing the New York Islanders just two days before, the Buffalo Sabres may have thought this series was in the bag. Maybe they were already looking ahead to the Conference Semifinals. Whatever the case, Buffalo wasn't entirely in the game tonight, and the Islanders capitalized on it. Rick DiPietro, out last night from injury, returned to play a spectacular game against the Sabres. DiPietro stopped 32 of 34 shots faced, compiling a .941 save percentage. In the post-game press conference, DiPietro stated that he "could've used a little WD-40 on the joints here and there". DiPietro was just fine without any WD-40, picking up his first win in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

New York took a 2-0 lead and never looked back, even though Buffalo would manage to tie the game for around 6:00 toward the end of the game. The tie was broken midway through the third period, when Marc-Andre Bergeron buried the puck behind Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller.

The Eastern Conference series between the Islanders and Sabres, which is currently tied up at 1-1, will continue on Monday, Apr 16, at 7:30 pm EDT in New York.

Three Stars of the Game

 * #1 = Rick DiPietro, G, New York Islanders - 32 Saves, .941 SV%
 * #2 = Dmitri Kalinin, D, Buffalo Sabres - 1 Goal
 * #3 = Marc-Andre Bergeron, D, New York Islanders - 1 Goal

Wikinews regarding this Series

 * NHL: Buffalo overwhelms Islanders in Playoff opener