en the clubs meet in tonigh

A pair of Western Canadian NHL teams travel east tonight as the Vancouver Canucks face the Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers battle the New York Islanders. Jim Bouton Jersey Braves . The Vancouver Canucks will face former teammate Cody Hodgson and the Buffalo Sabres when the clubs meet in tonights clash at First Niagara Center. The Sabres were 0-6-1 through the first seven games of 2013-14, but finally picked up a victory in Tuesdays road tilt against the New York Islanders. Tyler Ennis scored the deciding goal during the second round of the shootout to lift the Sabres to a come-from-behind win at Nassau Coliseum. The 4-3 shootout decision ended a club record-tying streak for futility at the start of the season. The last time Buffalo went seven games into a campaign without a victory was in 1999-2000, when the Sabres recorded five losses and two ties. The Sabres trailed 3-2 before Marcus Foligno found the back of the net with 2:01 remaining in the third period, and Thomas Vanek and Ennis both converted their shootout opportunities before Ryan Miller officially stopped Buffalos losing streak with a save on John Tavares. Ennis and Vanek also scored in regulation, while Miller racked up 41 saves prior to stoning two of New Yorks three skaters in the shootout. "It was a great job by our guys," said Miller. "Glad to get that (first win)." Buffalo now has a chance to earn its first home win of the season, having posted an 0-3-1 mark in Western New York so far. Thursdays contest marks the start of a three-game homestand for the Sabres, who also will welcome Colorado and Boston during the residency. Sabres forward Hodgson will play his second career game against the Canucks, who drafted him with the 10th overall pick in the 2008 draft before eventually trading him to Buffalo for fellow forward Zack Kassian during the 2011-12 season. Hodgson played at Vancouver on March 3, 2012, less than one week after the trade, but did not record a point in that meeting. Kassian had one goal and one assist in that game, which Buffalo won by a 5-3 score. Hodgson has one goal and five assists in eight games this season. Kassian, meanwhile, has failed to record a point for the Canucks in two games since returning from a suspension for a high-sticking incident against Edmonton in the preseason. All told, Hodgson has 19 goals and 48 points in 76 games since the trade, while Kassian has posted eight goals and six assists over 58 contests with the Canucks. Vancouver had lost two straight regulation games by identical 4-1 scores before ending the brief slide with Tuesdays win in Philadelphia. Ryan Kesler scored a pair of goals, including the deciding tally with 2:25 left in regulation, to help the Canucks open a seven-game road trip on a positive note. The Canucks trailed the Flyers by a 2-1 count heading into the third period, but Vancouver scored the only two goals of the final 20 minutes to take a 3-2 decision. Chris Higgins added a goal and one assist and tied the game at 2-2 with 12:29 remaining in the third period, setting up Keslers game-winner. Henrik Sedin posted two helpers for the Canucks, while Roberto Luongo stopped 20 shots for the win. "It was a nice one, especially since the couple of guys that scored goals had been working hard all year so far, but hadnt gotten rewarded much," Luongo said. "So its nice that they both contributed in a huge way there." Vancouver is 2-1-0 as the visiting team this season and will continue its swing this Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Sabres have won four of the last five meetings against the Canucks. Buffalo also has claimed three in a row and five of the past six encounters in Western New York. EDMONTON OILERS vs. NEW YORK ISLANDERS A couple of teams desperate for a victory will meet Thursday on Long Island when the New York Islanders host the Edmonton Oilers at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders are 2-2-2 on the season and enter Thursday riding an 0-2-1 losing streak. New York dropped the first two games of this slide on the road, but couldnt break the trend in Tuesdays home game against the Buffalo Sabres, who recorded a 4-3 shootout win to earn their first victory of the season. New York led the Sabres 3-2 after Matt Moulsons power-play goal with 11:16 remaining in the third period. However, Marcus Foligno netted the equalizer for Buffalo with 2:01 left in regulation and Tyler Ennis notched the decisive goal for the Sabres in the shootout. Thomas Vanek and Ennis both converted their shootout opportunities for Buffalo before Ryan Miller officially sealed the win for the Sabres with a save on John Tavares. In addition to Moulsons score, the Islanders also received goals from Frans Nielsen and Matt Martin, while Evgeni Nabokov turned aside 31 shots in the loss. "We put a lot of pucks on net today," said Tavares. "We didnt get the result we wanted. When we have a lead, we have to bear down and find a way to get the job done." New York is 1-0-2 on home ice this season and is playing the second test of a four-game stand on Thursday. Edmonton has just one win in seven games (1-5-1) this season and the club will be aiming for its first victory at Nassau Coliseum since 1999 when it takes the ice on Thursday. The Oilers have dropped six in a row on Long Island since last earning a road win against the Isles on Dec. 14, 1999. New York has taken two of three and eight of the last 11 meetings in this series overall. The Oilers last played on Tuesday when they dropped a 3-2 regulation decision in Pittsburgh. Evgeni Malkin potted the game-winner on the power play 7:20 into the third period to hand Edmontons its fourth straight loss. Jordan Eberle and Ales Hemsky each scored once for the Oilers, while Jason LaBarbera stopped 25-of-28 shots. "Its about wins and losses and weve got to find ways to win games," LaBarbera said. "Thats the bottom line. Everyone of us can step it up a bit more and just find a way to get a win and get a good feeling in here." Its unclear if LaBarbera or the struggling Devan Dubnyk will get the start tonight for the Oilers. Dubnyk entered this season as the clubs clear No. 1 goaltender, but he is 0-3-1 with an astronomical 5.43 goals against average and .829 save percentage in four games. The Oilers are 0-2-1 so far on a six-game road trip and will play the next portion of the swing Saturday in Ottawa. Cito Gaston Jersey Braves . 15 in Hamburg. The fight was originally slated for Sept. 6 but had to be postponed after Klitschko tore a bicep in sparring and was forced to miss four weeks of training. Mike Foltynewicz Jersey Braves . Costa injured his right thigh muscle against Barcelona last Saturday and had sought treatment in Belgrade from a doctor specializing in using fluid derived from horse placenta to repair damaged cells.Pat Quinn, a veteran of over 600 games as an NHL player and 1,400 games as an NHL head coach, has passed away at the age of 71. One of just four men to win the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year with two different teams, Quinn was best remembered as a long-time coach of both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks, as well leading Canada to its first gold medal in 50 years at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Quinns NHL career began in 1968-69 with the Maple Leafs, who called him up from the Central Hockey League a 25-year-old. It did not take Quinn long to make a name for himself as a player, rendering Bobby Orr unconscious with an infamous open ice hit during the 1969 playoffs. Quinn left the Leafs in 1970 to finish his career with expansion franchises, first as a member of the Canucks from 1970 to 1972 followed by the Atlanta Flames from 1972 to 1977. His coaching career, which would leave his greatest legacy on the game, began almost immediately. He joined the Philadelphia Flyers in 1977-78 and by the end of the next season he succeeded Hall-of-Famer Fred Shero as head coach. He guided the Flyers to the 1980 Stanley Cup Final, losing to the New York Islanders. Quinn won his first Jack Adams Award after guiding the Flyers to a 48-12-20 record and first in the Patrick Division. The Flyers fired Quinn after the 1981-82 season and he returned to the NHL as coach of the Los Angeles Kings from 1984 to 1987. Quinn then joined the Canucks as president and general manager, helping rebuild them from a fifth-place club in the Smythe Division to a team that came within one win of a Stanley Cup in 1994. The additions of Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure through the draft, as well as franchise goaltender and Kirk McLean all came under Quinns watch. His next job was another rebuilding effort - this time with the Maple Leafs. He took over as head coach in 1998-99 and assumed the GM duties the following season after leading the team to the Eastern Conference Final and capturing his secoond Jack Adams Award. Luis Polonia Jersey Braves. Over six seasons with the Leafs, he led the club to three 100-point seasons and two Eastern Conference Finals, including the clubs only regular season division title in the post-expansion era. His success with the Leafs earned him the role as head coach of the Canadian Olympic mens hockey team for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Under Quinn, the team overcame a 1-1-1 round robin record – while outscored 10-8 - and went on to win the gold medal with a 5-2 victory over the host Americans. Quinn was fired by the Leafs in 2006 after the team failed to make the post-season for the first time since 1997-98 and turned his attention to junior hockey. As part-owner of the Vancouver Giants, he won the 2007 Memorial Cup - his second time hoisting the trophy after winning it as a player with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1963. Hockey Canada hired Quinn to handle international duties and he did so with great success. He coached Canada to gold at the 2008 Under-18 World Championship with a team that featured future NHL stars Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Matt Duchene. He took the next step with the same core group, guiding Canada to 2009 World Junior gold with the help of talents like John Tavares, P.K. Subban, Patrice Bergeron and Jamie Benn. Quinn returned to the NHL for one more season in 2009-10 with the Edmonton Oilers. In addition to his achievements on the ice and behind the bench, he was also a key builder with the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee and assumed the role of Chairman of the Board in 2013. We are deeply saddened by the passing of Pat Quinn”, Jim Gregory, Vice-Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame said in a statement. Pat is one of hockeys most respected individuals whose lifetime involvement as a player, coach and executive has made an indelible mark on the game, and our thoughts and prayers are with Sandra and all of Pats family and friends at this extremely difficult time. Quinn was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2012. ' ' '