NHL Roundup: Penguins looking over shoulders as Sabres make move

Thursday, Jan. 30, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The Buffalo Sabres just won't go away. The Pittsburgh Penguins are taking notice.

One of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season, the Sabres moved within two points of the Northeast Division leaders with a 3-1 victory over the Penguins on Wednesday night.

"They have a lot of skilled players," Jaromir Jagr said of the Sabres. "They're not big stars, but they're pretty good players, and they play well together. They play physical, and they play aggressive."

The Sabres weren't given much of a chance after scoring leader Pat LaFontaine was knocked out by a concussion early this season. But with 57 points, the Sabres (26-19-5) are tied for the sixth-best record in the NHL.

The Sabres dominated Pittsburgh for two periods and hung on after Jagr's goal in the third, his league-leading 42nd.

Rob Ray and Mike Peca scored in the first period before Richard Smehlik's empty-net goal with 27 seconds sealed the outcome for the Sabres.

Dominik Hasek made 21 saves, and he robbed Mario Lemieux in front of the net with 5:50 remaining with Buffalo hanging on to a one-goal lead.

With the victory, the Sabres avoided their first three-game losing streak this season while handing the Penguins their first road loss in eight games (6-1-1).

"We were totally unprepared," Penguins forward Stu Barnes said. "We know how they come out of the gate. We'll try and learn a lesson from this."

* FLYERS 2, CAPITALS 1: Ron Hextall stopped 29 shots as Philadelphia extended its unbeaten road streak to 12.

* SENATORS 1, DEVILS 1: Rookie Jay Pandolfo scored midway through the third period to give New Jersey a tie with visiting Ottawa.

* BLUES 4, MAPLE LEAFS 0: Pierre Turgeon and Brett Hull each had a goal and an assist as St. Louis won at Toronto.

* COYOTES 3, RED WINGS 0: Nikolai Khabibulin made 28 saves for his fourth career shutout, and Bob Corkum had a goal and an assist as Phoenix won at Detroit.

* STARS 3, DUCKS 1: At Dallas, Sergei Zubov had a goal and an assist, and Andy Moog stopped 25 shots as the Stars extended their winning streak to four.

* AVALANCHE 6, KINGS 3: At Denver, Claude Lemieux and Scott Young each scored two goals, and Colorado welcomed back goalie Patrick Roy from a hand injury with a victory over Los Angeles.

* OILERS 3, SHARKS 1: At Edmonton, Andrei Kovalenko scored the game-winning goal late in the second period as the Oilers won their third straight.