Miller reached the milestone as the Canucks downed the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Tuesday night.

“It means I have been playing a while,” said Miller. “It feels good. It’s a collection of a lot of good teams, a lot of good players over the years. I’ll take a little moment to reflect. It’s been a lot of fun. Just winning’s fun and I’ve gotten to do it quite a bit with some good guys. So I’ll try and enjoy this.”

The Canucks (6-3-0) posted their third win in four games, while the Hurricanes (0-6-2) remained winless after their first eight games of the season. Carolina also remained without a victory in seven games in Vancouver since October 1999.

“Our guys were skating and pressuring the first option,” said Miller, who recorded 29 saves as the Canucks were outshot 30-29. “I could sit back and make reads. It makes the game a lot easier.”

Brad Richardson’s first two goals of the season led Vancouver, with his second going into an empty net in the final minute of play.

“It was nice to get the zero off the board there,” said Richardson. “You get to that 10-game mark, you don’t want to be sitting there with zeros.”

Linden Vey and Jannik Hansen, with the winner, also scored for the Canucks, who led 1-0 and 3-0 after the first and second periods, respectively.

Jiri Tlusty broke Miller’s shutout bid during a scramble at the 11:05 mark of the third.

“We just didn’t play heavy and strong enough to be able to break pucks out and go the other way,” said Carolina captain Eric Staal, who earned an assist after missing five games with an upper-body injury. “We just weren’t good enough.”

Vancouver went 1-for-3 on the power play while the ‘Canes were blanked on the same number of man-advantage opportunities as they spent a lot of time defending Canucks penalty-killers.

Richardson opened the scoring only 1:32 into an otherwise uneventful first period as he broke down the right wing, cut towards the goal and lifted a quick wrist shot over Carolina goalie Cam Ward’s glove.

The third-line center stood out after coach Willie Desjardins told his unit, which included Zack Kassian and Shawn Matthias, to get more physical. But Richardson was not impressed with his club’s overall effort.

“It wasn’t our best game, to be honest,” said Richardson. “It was a little bit sleepy a lot of the times, but we scored timely goals and we won the game, so that’s the big thing.”

However, Richardson was impressed with Miller.

“He kept us in the game,” said Richardson. “They had some good chances. It’s too bad we couldn’t get him the shutout.”

Vey put the Canucks ahead 2-0 on a power play 50 seconds into the second period. Playing the point, he skated in and fired in Vrbata’s pass from the side of the net. The goal came after Daniel Sedin, standing alone in the slot, missed Vrbata’s pass but the puck continued to Vey.

Hansen increased Vancouver’s lead to 3-0 at 18:39 of the second on a mid-air deflection of Yanick Weber’s point shot. Weber’s assist resulted after he kept an errant puck right on the blue-line and then flung it towards the net, denying Carolina’s Jeff Skinner of a clear breakaway.

“They had a chance, we kept it in and we ended up scoring, so that was probably the difference in the game,” said Desjardins.

The Canucks will host Montreal on Thursday while the Hurricanes return home to face Arizona on Saturday.

Game notes

Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin and Radim Vrbata extended their point streaks to five games as they assisted on Vey’s goal. Defensemen John-Michael Liles (illness) and Ryan Murphy (lower-body injury) returned to the Hurricanes lineup after missing their last game in Edmonton. But winger Nathan Gerbe (lower body) missed his fourth contest. Vancouver winger Tom Sestito was scratched for the ninth consecutive game to start the season. The game was the first of two meetings between Vancouver and Carolina this season. They will face each other again Jan. 16 in Raleigh, N.C.

The post Canucks’ Miller 30th goalie to 300th victory appeared first on IdealCapper.

Turris scored twice, including the winning goal 3:54 into overtime, and added an assist to help the Senators overcome an early two-goal deficit and beat the unraveling Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Saturday.

“I don’t know what it was, but my legs didn’t feel the best in the first period,” Turris said, before noting how the massage and injection of caffeine provided him a boost during the first intermission. “I felt much better in the second and much better in the third. I don’t know why, but it happens like that sometimes.”

Turris capped the Senators’ three-goal second period by scoring on a wraparound goal with 63 seconds left. After Buffalo’s Drew Stafford tied it at 3 with 7:54 left in regulation, Turris sealed the win with a power-play goal in overtime.

With Christian Ehrhoff off for interference, Daniel Alfredsson fed Turris in the lower left circle, where he one-timed a shot over goalie Ryan Miller’s shoulder on the short side.

Patrick Wiercioch had a goal and assist, and Chris Phillips also scored for Ottawa, which won for only the second time in eight games (2-2-4). Ben Bishop made 33 saves in his first start in four games. The Senators also extended their string of games decided by one goal to 11, one short of matching the NHL record set by Chicago during the 1997-98 season.

Stafford scored twice, and Mike Weber added a goal for Buffalo, which dropped to 1-2-3 in its past six games.

While the Senators celebrated their ability to bounce back after a sloppy first period, the Sabres lamented yet another inconsistent outing.

“I thought the first (period) was probably one of our best periods of the year, and the second was probably one of our worst,” Sabres interim coach Ron Rolston said. “We must have just got comfortable.”

The Sabres (10-14-4) can’t afford to get comfortable given how coach Lindy Ruff was fired a month ago.

Their fans continued to express their displeasure of a high-priced team that opened the season with high expectations. An hour after the game, one fan was heard inside the near-empty arena yelling, “Darcy’s got to go!” in reference to Sabres general manager Darcy Regier.

“It’s disappointing,” Sabres captain Jason Pominville said. “We just can’t get one point. We have to be able to get two points. We had a two-goal lead, and it just wasn’t good enough.”

That two-goal lead Buffalo enjoyed was its largest entering a second period in 32 games, dating to March 27 of last season. And the Sabres promptly squandered it.

Ottawa scored twice in the first 10:14, during a stretch in which it outshot Buffalo 12-2. Turris then gave the Senators their first lead by avoiding Jochen Hecht’s weak stick check attempt and banking the puck in off Miller’s skate.

Senators coach Paul MacLean was impressed by how his team rallied.

“That’s what we had to do — respond,” MacLean said. “Down 2-0 on the road, the next goal is huge. And I thought we came out and established our game finally and put some pressure on their goaltender.”

The Senators took full advantage of the flat-footed Sabres less than two minutes into the second period. During a 10-second span, Miller was forced to stop four shots — two by Jakob Silfverberg and two by Peter Regin — from in close. They all came after defenseman Robyn Regehr’s lazy giveaway inside his blue line.

Miller finished with 30 saves, including foiling Guillaume Latendresse, who was set up on the doorstep shortly before Turris scored in overtime.

Bishop was sharp, too. His best save came with 2:27 left in regulation during a Sabres power play. That is when he got his right pad out just in time to stop Thomas Vanek’s one-timer.

He had no chance on Stafford’s second goal, which deflected in off Senators forward Zack Smith’s stick in front.

“It’s going to happen sometimes,” Bishop said. “We responded well, so, no big deal.”

Game notes

Sabres LW Ville Leino had an assist in his season debut. He missed the first 27 games with a hip injury. … Senators D Sergei Gonchar had two assists to extend his point streak to six games. … Sabres RW Patrick Kaleta completed his five-game NHL suspension for an illegal hit, and is available to return to play at Washington on Sunday. … Senators LW Matt Kassian made his NHL season debut after being acquired in a trade with Minnesota on March 12. Kassian had been playing with Houston of the AHL.

The post Kyle Turris lifts Senators in 11th straight one-goal game appeared first on IdealCapper.

“The best thing to do is acknowledge that it was stupid,” Miller said Friday, before turning his attention to Sabres fans. “I appreciate their patience. I know it’s a hard situation. I still don’t even know the right message because it was just a stupid, useless waste of time.”

Miller, who played a role in negotiations, called himself “embarrassed” that it took more than six months of negotiations to reach an agreement. At one point during talks, he gave up on the possibility of having a season.

And he laid the blame on the owners’ side, specifically singling out commissioner Gary Bettman, whom he accused of being the reason why the four-month lockout wasn’t resolved sooner.

“In my mind, it always had to be January in Gary Bettman’s mind,” Miller said. “Obviously, he had something in his head and he was going to see how far he could take it. So there’s really no going up against Gary when he has something in his head.”

For someone who hasn’t played in a competitive game since April 5, the ever-outspoken Miller seems already in midseason form.

“It’s exciting to be back. It’s the way you that you’re supposed to feel,” he said. “It’s not in the board room, so that’s good. It’s getting back on the ice, and that’s the important part.”

Spending much of his offseason in southern California, Miller arrived in Buffalo on Thursday, and was on the ice for what’s expected to be the players’ final informal practice at a suburban arena. Training camp is tentatively set to open Sunday, and a 48-game regular season to start a week later.

A seven-year veteran, Miller is the face of the franchise, and regarded as a team leader. His arrival was welcomed by the Sabres, and also by numerous fans. About 300 onlookers — the largest turnout this week — lined the boards to watch the open practice.

Aside from his frustrations regarding labor talks, Miller was in an upbeat mood. Walking out of the locker room with his mask perched above his head, exposing a familiar patchy beard — “It’s my lockout beard” — he then flashed a big smile and waved his glove hand before taking the ice.

Before taking any questions from reporters afterward, Miller first wanted to find out what’s been happening in Buffalo, and then shook hands with each member of the media.

“There,” he said. “We’re reintroduced again, eight months later.”

Now it’s time to get to work in what will be a shortened season, and for a high-priced Sabres team that was among the NHL’s biggest busts after missing the playoffs last season.

Buffalo (39-32-11) finished ninth in the Eastern Conference and was hampered by a rash of injuries, including Miller missing a nine-game stretch because of concussion-like symptoms. On the bright side, Miller hopes the team can pick up where it left off after closing last season on a 15-5-4 roll.

The challenge for Miller is getting himself ready to carry much of the load during a tightly packed stretch of games.

“Hockey-wise, I’m in a pretty good spot,” he said. “Mentally, I always kind of knew it was going to be a short sprint kind of situation. It’s not a surprise for anyone of us.”

Coach Lindy Ruff already has projected Miller will play 36 to 38 games.

Miller hasn’t given any thought to how many games he’ll play, but has been accustomed to being the Sabres’ workhorse.

He’s appeared in 59 or more games in each of his past six seasons. That includes 2009-10, when he was the NHL’s Vezina Trophy winner after going 41-18-8 in 69 NHL regular-season games. He also played six games at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where he led the United States to a silver medal.

“I just want to be that guy, and we’ll go by that,” Miller said. “I think if I’m playing at a high-enough level, I’d like to be in net.”

Unlike some NHLers who spent part of the lockout playing overseas, Miller elected to stay home. He said the insurance premiums on his contract proved expensive. He also noted that he wanted to make sure there were no lingering effects from the head injury he suffered last season.

Miller spent much of his time working out in California, where he skated three or four times a week. He mostly worked out with members of the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings such as Jarret Stoll, Brad Richardson, Justin Williams and Rob Scuderi. Several other NHLers, including Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, also spent a few months working out with them.

“I’ve been skating pretty consistently since June, but it’s not the same as playing with your teammates,” Miller said. “It’s been missing from my life for the past eight months, that’s a long time.”

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