BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht scored shootout goals and the Buffalo Sabres snapped a four-game winless streak with a 2-1 victory over the slumping New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.
Adam Mair scored in regulation, and Ryan Miller finished with 39 saves for Buffalo (31-14-7), which returned home after a 2-3-2 trip.
Brian Rolston scored, and Martin Brodeur made 30 saves for the offensively-challenged Devils (34-16-2), who've scored just 12 times during an eight-game stretch in which they've won just twice (2-5-1).
The game featured a potential Olympic matchup between the goalies. Miller will likely be the starter for the United States, while Brodeur looks to earn the starting nod for Canada next month in Vancouver.
Sabres center Tim Connolly failed to register a point, snapping his career-high 16-game points streak.
In an effort to shake things up with his struggling team, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff sat the defensive pair of Toni Lydman and Steve Montador, and dressed Andrej Sekera and Nathan Paetsch.
Brodeur, meanwhile, rebounded from a poor start against Ottawa on Tuesday in which he was pulled after allowing three goals on 12 shots over the first two periods.
Mair gave Buffalo the early lead with his second of the year with 5:46 to go in the first period. Standing in front of the net, Mair was able to get a piece of Derek Roy's slap shot from the top of the right circle.
Rolston tied it with his 16th with 5:09 remaining in the second period. After a long pass from Johnny Oduya at the red line, Rolston raced along the left wing before unleashing a slap shot from the left circle that beat Miller on the short side.
Notes
Miller snapped a three-game home losing streak against the Devils. … Brodeur dropped to 5-1-2 in his last eight against the Sabres. … Paetsch picked up his first assist of the season on Mair's goal. … Mair has goals in each of the last two games, the first time in his career he's scored in back-to-back contests. … There were only two penalties called in the game. … The Sabres are 8-0-3 in their last 11 at home.