Slumping Stars Continue Downward Spiral In Loss To Sabres

Buffalo, NY, United States (AHN) – After a thrilling come-from-behind shootout win against Washington on Monday, the Dallas Stars were unable to muster enough firepower for a repeat performance.

Thomas Vanek netted the eventual winner in the second period, and rookie Tyler Myers had a goal and three assists for Buffalo in the Sabres 5-3 win over the slumping Stars on Wednesday.

The Stars squandered an opportunity to pull closer to the final playoff slot in the Western Conference, and remain five points behind eighth-place Calgary with no games in hand.

“Every game is just so vital,” said Marty Turco, who once again sparkled in net by kicking aside 38 shots after a career-high 49-save performance in the shootout win over the Capitals on Monday. “We’re not getting any farther behind, but we just have to win to stay afloat, and then we need a little bit of help from some other teams.”

Jamie Benn had a goal and assist, and Steve Ott and Toby Petersen also scored for the sliding Stars (29-25-12), who’ve lost four of their last five crucial games coming out of the Olympic break to remain on the outside of the postseason picture.

The Stars could have helped themselves out against an inconsistent Sabres team that had split their first four games following the Olympics, but loose defensive coverage as well as some careless plays with the puck once again proved to be the downfall of a Stars team that had won three of four heading into the elongated layoff in February.

Down by a goal after 40 minutes, the Stars could only get six shots on Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller, who finished with 17 saves.

“We were playing a desperate game but Buffalo had a good lockdown on us getting into the zone,” Turco said. “They cleaned up a lot of rebounds and blocked a lot of shots. It’s a tough one, but that’s the game and those are the things you have to fight through.”

With the game knotted at 3-3 after the first 20 minutes, Vanek gave the Sabres a 4-3 lead midway through second with his 20th of the year. The Buffalo winger was allowed to set up alone in front, and made the Stars pay for the blown defensive coverage when he wristed the puck past Turco.

Both teams traded goals in a wide-open and back-and-forth first period that featured six tallies combined. Myers got things rolling with a goal just 55 seconds in, but Petersen tied it with his eighth of the season just over two minutes later.

The Stars eventually took their first lead of the game when Benn notched his 16th of the season with 2:04 to go in the first.

But the lead was short-lived after Buffalo winger Jason Pominville deflected Myers’ shot from the middle of the blue line past Turco to make it 3-3 after the first 20 minutes.

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