Sabres Are Still Shaky, but Winless Streak Ends

Taylor Pyatt scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres ended their 12-game winless streak with a 5-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday at Buffalo, N.Y.

Miroslav Satan, Vaclav Varada and James Patrick also scored, but goaltender Ryan Miller was shaky, stopping 17 shots to earn his first NHL victory.

The win came a month to the day since Buffalo’s last victory, ending an 0-9-2-1 streak.

Vancouver 4, Detroit 1 -- Todd Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist and Markus Naslund had his league-leading 13th goal as the Canucks won at Vancouver, Canada.

Pittsburgh 3, Atlanta 1 -- Alexei Kovalev scored the go-ahead goal with 5:51 left at Atlanta and the Penguins defeated the Thrashers for the 14th consecutive time.

Florida 3, Phoenix 3 -- Claude Lemieux scored twice and the Coyotes rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the Panthers at Phoenix.

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New York Islander Coach Peter Laviolette was fined $10,000 and Florida Coach Mike Keenan was fined $5,000 by the NHL for criticizing officials.... Islander goalie Garth Snow was suspended for two games for allegedly trying to injure Tampa Bay’s Sheldon Keefe in Thursday’s game.... Toronto Maple Leaf defenseman Bryan McCabe is out two to four weeks because of an injured foot.