Sabres Crumble At Hands of One-Man Wrecking Crew

Sabres 0: Bergenheim 2

Okay, so it's unfair to say that Sean Bergenheim was the only factor in this game- that would be overshadowing the great defensive play of Jack Hillen and the incredible work by the ever-flourishing Yann Danis in net as he received his second shutout of the season. But it is hard to overlook the performance of Bergenheim, especially seeing as about a month ago, you could barely tell that he was out there.

The determined young forward scored both goals for the Islanders, who picked up a win over the Buffalo Sabres last night at the Coliseum that the Sabres actually needed badly. Trapped in a dead heat with the Carolina Hurricanes for the eighth spot in the East, they needed some separation in the standings in order to have hope or securing a position in the playoffs. But instead, they came out relatively uninspired, giving the Isles plenty of opportunities to trip them up.

Bergie's first goal came in the second period, after the first reied heavily on Danis to make some pretty neat saves. Bergie hustled to the front of the net, took a pass from Hillen and spun on Patrick Lalime, putting the puck past his right pad. After that play, tensions ran fairly high as Joe Callahan came to the defense of blueline partner Radek Martinek after Adam Mair took a run at him. However, Callahan took the penalty for roughing, rather than Mair being penalized for a "clean" hit.

Then in the third, as Buffalo started steadily gaining pressure, Bergenheim did more damage. After being foiled on several attempts in front and up the middle, he got retribution, making something out of what seemed like nothing. In the offensive zone, he fell as a Buffalo player went behind with the puck, and turned it over. Then he cut to net as Frans Nielsen picked it up and fed it to him, and slammed home his 11th of the year. 2-0, Bergenheim picking up the first star of the game, as the Isles preserved the lead with great defense in front of the net and a couple of lucky post shots.

Notes: As earlier reported, Bill Guerin is apparently MIA. Word has it that he is in the process of being traded, but where and for what has yet to be announced. It certainly generated some buzz last night, as he was in warmups and then disappeared at the start of the game, sparking all sorts of talk. We shall see what happens.