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I’m sure if someone would’ve told you before the game that Paul Bissonnette was going to score the game winner, they’d either have been a) drunk, b) a jackass, or c) one of his handful of relatives who came down from Welland for the game.

Well, the infamous fourth line plug was the hero.

On the strength of four goals and a stellar performance from goalie Mike Smith, the Phoenix Coyotes beat Buffalo 4-2.

Luke Adam and Patrick Kaleta scored for the Sabres, who got 25 saves from Jhonas Enroth in his second loss of the season.

Smith was the star, though, making 43 saves to stymie a Buffalo offense that seemed on the verge of opening the floodgates throughout the first period.

“We missed too many opportunities,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “Point blank. We missed empty nets. We hit a few posts. It isn’t good enough. If you want to win a game and come out with that much energy, you have to put those chances away.”

• Not quite sure what Tyler Myers was doing on the eventual winning goal. If he sticks with Bissonnette, the opportunity gets eliminated. Instead he’s behind the goal chasing butterflies and the puck is in the net.
• Two Sabres did not register a shot on goal: Robyn Regehr and Ville Leino.
• Jordan Leopold continued his solid run, adding two assists. He seems to be the steadiest defenseman on the roster lately. He and Christian Ehrhoff played over 26 minutes, and ended up even on the night. Leopold hasn’t been a minus player in the game since October 27.
• Jhonas Enroth looked shaky coming off his first shutout of the season the night before. While he stole two points Friday night, he didn’t do much to duplicate the effort Saturday. If Miller is out an extended period, you’d think that Enroth isn’t going to be able to play every back-to-back. Maybe Friday in Columbus might be a good time to get Drew MacIntyre a game. Can’t run the kid into the ground. He’s vital right now. Read the rest of this entry →