GLENDALE, Ariz. — It was clear from the outset what the fans wanted. With loud cheers during introductions and cameras flashing during warm-ups, the fans wanted to see the Buffalo Sabres take the ice and storm the desert.

They couldn't have done it any better.

The Sabres blew out the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday, earning a 7-2 victory in front of a Jobing.com Arena crowd that stood and applauded the visitors' every move. Eleven players reached the score sheet in the Sabres' biggest outburst of the season.

The lopsided victory extended the Sabres' hot streak to 11 games. They are 8-0-3 during the run, the second-longest streak in the NHL this season. They will try to tie the San Jose Sharks' streak of 12 games with a point tonight when they visit the Anaheim Ducks.

They will enter Honda Center as the top team in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres tied Washington at 66 points with one fewer game played.

"I said before the game, 'We've got an opportunity to tie up top, and our goal is to get there,' " coach Lindy Ruff said. "You don't get many opportunities. We've worked hard for the opportunity. To win the game and tie for first in the East is nice."

Monday's journey to Phoenix was technically the third game of a seven-game road trip. Try telling that to the folks with names such as Mogilny, Myers, Perreault and Miller on their backs. They made up the overwhelming majority of the 11,309 in attendance, giving the Sabres as much backing in the Southwest as they would have received in South Buffalo.

"It was a heck of a showing by our fans," Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta said. "It gives you that extra energy when you're playing a game and you have that much fan support in a road building. It sounded like a home game out there." The Sabres certainly gave the fans plenty to cheer about. Tyler Myers scored just 2:37 into the game, setting the tone for a raucous outing. By the time Buffalo was done with its four-goal outburst in the second period, the building had more Blue and Gold excitement than any bar on Chippewa.

The third period was just a chance for the fans to show off their knowledge. They kept alive the longtime tradition of the Buffalo goal chant "We want six ... seven ... eight!" and shouted "USA, USA" on those rare occasions goaltender and American Olympian Ryan Miller was tested. They even did the Bills' "Shout" song.

"They were getting everything going," Kaleta said.

It's common for Buffalo fans to travel well, but it's not common for teams to take over the Coyotes' ice. Phoenix was 12-2-2 at home in the previous 16 games, but the Sabres made them look out of place.

Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who along with Miller has been one of the NHL's top netminding stories this season, was gone after 22 minutes. Myers, Chris Butler and Kaleta scored on the Sabres' first 13 shots.

"We might have caught their goalie on a little bit of an off night, which helped," Ruff said. "But from a structure standpoint, I thought that might be as good as we've played."

Bryzgalov should have been glad to leave. The Sabres didn't treat replacement Jason LaBarbera any better. Jason Pominville (twice), Jochen Hecht and Thomas Vanek beat the goaltender to extend the rout.

Vanek, Hecht, Pominville and Tim Connolly led the Sabres with three points apiece.

Vanek seemed almost embarrassed to make it 6-1 with 2:47 gone in the third. He merely had to tap the puck into an empty net to finish a three-on-one and extend the celebration.

The party went right to the end. Pominville closed the scoring with 1:47 left. Fans, who had heard his name announced for two goals already, littered the ice with hats. Problem for the lidless was his second tally was changed to a goal for Hecht, but no announcement was made.

No one in Blue and Gold seemed to care.

"That's exactly the start we wanted, and I think the big thing for us was we played a full 60 [minutes]," Myers said. "That's something we've been focusing on for a while here, and it's nice to put a whole game together."