The Buffalo Sabres' winless streak is dead. Maybe now they can rest in peace.

The Sabres finally ended their worst slide of the season Saturday, and they did so against

one of the best and hottest teams in the NHL. Buffalo took down the San Jose Sharks, scoring

the first three goals to earn a 3-1 decision in HSBC Arena.

The victory was as timely as it was needed. It was the Sabres' final game before the Olympic

break. They had no desire to spend two weeks lamenting a terrible stretch.

Instead, they can spend their NHL vacation thinking about their one-game outing instead of the

0-4-2 and 2-7-3 skids that preceded it.

"It was good that we could go into the break feeling good," Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller

said. "Even though it's been a tough stretch, feeling good about the way we played tonight

against a good team can go a long way.

"Attitude is a big thing, and rest is a big thing in this league. A lot of guys are finally

getting it, and it definitely helps going into our break."

The odds of entering the break on a high were certainly low. While the Sabres have been

losing, the Sharks have been winning — a lot. San Jose was 12-2-2 in the previous 16

games and was tied with Washington for the most points in the league.

"We wanted that one tonight against one of the best teams in the league," Sabres left wing

Jochen Hecht said. "It shows how good this team can be. If we believe in ourselves and play

our game, we can beat anybody."

The Sabres topped the Sharks by rediscovering several of the game-changing traits that had

deserted them during the skid:

Timely scoring.

Few defensive breakdowns.

Effective special teams.

Solid goaltending.

The teams played a scoreless first period, with Miller and fellow Olympian Evgeni Nabokov

combining for 17 saves. The second period belonged to the Sabres and their penalty killers.

Buffalo scored three times and stopped the league's third-best power play on its three

opportunities.

The Sabres, who've been prone to allowing a goal just after getting stymied at the other end,

turned the tables. Craig Rivet turned the puck over right in front of the Buffalo net early in

the second period, but Miller stoned Joe Thornton.

Just 52 seconds later, Buffalo's Henrik Tallinder carried the puck past defenseman Rob Blake

in the San Jose zone. Paul Gaustad buried the cross-crease pass with 5:25 gone, then started

an intense celebratory group hug after his first goal since Dec. 29.

"It was just something where we drive the net, and lately I've been having a hard time finding

the net," Gaustad said. "Sometimes when we had bad things going our way, we were kind of

getting a little bit down, but I think we showed good composure. When that stuff happened

tonight, we just went after it and attacked back."

Thomas Vanek gave the Sabres a 2-0 lead with 7:29 left, stepping out of the penalty box to

join Hecht on a rush. Hecht drew both San Jose defenders and slipped the puck to Vanek for an

easy backhand.

Jason Pominville completed the run with 2:37 to go.

The Sharks ended Miller's shutout hopes with 14:32 to play on a goal by Kent Huskins. Miller

finished with 27 saves to win for the first time in six starts and head to the Olympics

feeling better about his game.

"It definitely helped a little bit," he said. "For a while there it didn't seem like much was

going my way after pretty much nothing went wrong the first 40 games for me. It's funny how

that works."

The Sabres' next game is March 2 when they visit Pittsburgh, with Washington coming to Buffalo

the following night. They are two of the league's best, but at least the Sabres can enter

without a long losing skid.

"We all feel a lot better, I can tell you that," coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think everybody

does."