Sabres 2, Devils 0
Ryan Miller made 30 saves for his 22nd career shutout as the host Buffalo Sabres moved a step closer to the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Nathan Gerbe and Thomas Vanek scored first-period goals for the Sabres (38-28-9), who won their third straight game and improved to 4-0-1 in their last five.
Buffalo, which is eighth in the Eastern Conference, increased its lead over Carolina to five points for the final playoff spot. The Sabres also moved to within two points of Montreal and the New York Rangers, who are tied for sixth.
Gerbe's fifth goal in five games came at 4:17. He started the play from behind the net with a pass out front and eventually beat Martin Brodeur high to the glove side off a rebound of Brad Boyes' shot.
Vanek banged home his team-leading 26th of the season off a rebound of Jason Pominville's shot at 16:17.
Brodeur made 26 saves for the Devils (34-36-5), who are 1-4-1 in their last six games and fell 12 points behind the Sabres with seven games left.
Miller has five shutouts this season, including one over Montreal on Tuesday.
The first period featured a stretch of 10:14 without a whistle.