NEW YORK (AP) — The Buffalo Sabres can carry the good cheer of ending the longest losing streak in the NHL this season into their holiday break.
Buffalo routed the New York Islanders 7-1 on Monday night, scoring twice in the first, three times in the second and twice more in the third to snap a 13-game (0-10-3) month of futility.
After the win, there was palpable relief heading into the break as the Sabres are off until Saturday, when they host the Chicago Blackhawks.
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin had four assists, the most by a defenseman this season. He stressed that achieving victory is satisfying for the moment, but only a step in a long process ahead.
“We battled for a long time and finally it went our way,’’ said Dahlin, the first Buffalo defenseman with four assists in a game since February 2008. “Now, it’s up to us to keep this thing going.”
The Sabres last won at San Jose, 4-2, on Nov. 23. What followed was a vexing run in which they dropped six one-goal games and were outscored 53-28. The low point was a 5-4 loss to Colorado on Dec. 3 in which Buffalo became the 90th team in NHL history to squander a four-or-more goal lead.
Buffalo is last in the Eastern Conference with 28 points.
Against the Islanders and following a hard-fought 3-1 loss at Boston on Saturday, the Sabres were solid from start to finish in scoring seven goals for the first time this season. They were so dominant, that boos rained down on the host Islanders at UBS Arena.
“It was huge to score some goals, and it was good to have a complete game,’’ said forward Jason Zucker, who scored Buffalo’s third goal. “It’s really hard not to overthink when you’ve lost that many in a row, so I give our guys credit. It was fun to get that win going into the break."
The Sabres started their season 4-7-1, then won seven of nine games before the skid began. That led to renewed angst in Buffalo because the Sabres haven't reached the playoffs since 2011.
Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, who returned to the team last summer, was supportive during his squad's month of frustration. The 64-year-old Ruff previously coached the Sabres from 1997-2013 and has seen virtually everything in his long coaching career. He was succinct in praising his club after their dedicated road effort.
“We denied a lot of plays in our end. It was a determined game,’’ Ruff said. “The bench had a lot of life. It’s a weight off our shoulders.”
Tage Thompson, who leads the Sabres with 17 goals, said Monday's win proved that focused hard work is the way forward for his team.
"Tonight we said shift after shift we're going to do the right things and let the chips fall when there they may," he said.
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Buffalo Sabres' Jack Quinn (22) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Buffalo Sabres' Tage Thompson (72) celebrates with teammates after scoring an empty-net goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The Buffalo Sabres celebrate after an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza.
The excitement and cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists that usually fill the square.
Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Some carried a sign that read, “We want life, not death.” Security forces, meanwhile, arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born.
"Always the message of Bethlehem is a message of peace and hope," said Mayor Anton Salman. “And these days, we are also sending our message to the world: peace and hope, but insisting that the world must work to end our suffering as Palestinian people.”
The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town's economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income — almost all of it from the Christmas season. Salman said unemployment is hovering around 50% — higher than the 30% unemployment across the rest of the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry.
Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, noted the shuttered shops and empty streets and expressed hope that next year would be better. Pizzaballa held a special pre-Christmas Mass in Holy Family Church in Gaza City on Sunday.
“This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad,” he told hundreds of people gathered in Manger Square, where normally tens of thousands would congregate. “I bring you the greetings, the prayers, of our brothers and sisters in Gaza.”
The number of visitors to the town plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million per year in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism Ministry.
Bethlehem is an important center in the history of Christianity, but Christians make up only a small percentage of the roughly 14 million people spread across the Holy Land. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department.
After nightfall, the golden walls of the Church of the Nativity were illuminated as a few dozen people quietly milled about. A young boy stood holding a pile of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them.
The war in Gaza has deterred tourists and has prompted a surge of violence in the West Bank, with more than 800 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and dozens of Israelis killed in militant attacks. Palestinian officials do not provide a breakdown of how many of the deceased are civilians and how many are fighters.
Since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war, access to and from Bethlehem and other towns in the West Bank has been difficult, with long lines of motorists waiting to pass through Israeli military checkpoints. The restrictions have prevented some 150,000 Palestinians from leaving the territory to work in Israel, causing the economy there to contract by 25%.
In the Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took more than 250 Israeli hostages. Israeli officials believe that around 100 hostages remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Elsewhere, Christmas celebrations were also subdued.
Scores of Syrian Christians protested Tuesday in Damascus, demanding protection after the burning of a Christmas tree in Hama the day before.
Videos and images shared on social media showed the large, decorated tree burning at a roundabout in Suqalabiyah, a town in the Hama countryside. It remains unclear who was responsible for setting the tree on fire.
In a video that circulated on social media, a representative of Syria’s new leadership, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, could be seen visiting the site and addressing the community. He said: “This act was committed by people who are not Syrian, and they will be punished beyond your expectations.”
German celebrations were darkened by a car attack on a Christmas market on Friday that left five people dead and 200 people injured.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his annual recorded Christmas Day speech to address the attack.
He plans to acknowledge that “there is grief, pain, horror and incomprehension over what took place in Magdeburg,” while urging Germans to “stand together,” according to an early copy of the speech.
A snowstorm in the Balkans stranded drivers and downed power lines, but some saw the beauty in it. “I’m actually glad its falling, especially because of Christmas,” said Mirsad Jasarevic in Zenica, Bosnia. “We did not have snow for Christmas for 17 years here, and now is the time for wonderful white Christmas.”
American Airlines briefly grounded flights across the U.S. on Tuesday due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive. Winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive.
Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 1,447 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 28 flights canceled.
Associated Press writers Melanie Lindman in Jerusalem and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.
A woman buys street food near the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Scouts hold a sign that reads "We want life, not death" during the traditional Christian procession towards the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Syrian Christians shout slogans in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, as they march during a protest after a Christmas tree was set on fire in Hamah city on Sunday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Syrian Christians carry crosses and shout slogans in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, as they march during a protest after a Christmas tree was set on fire in Hamah city on Sunday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A woman looks at Syrian Christians carrying crosses and shouting slogans in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, during a protest after a Christmas tree was set on fire in Hamah city on Sunday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Syrian Christians carry crosses and shout slogans, as they march during a protest after a Christmas tree was set on fire in Hamah city on Sunday, in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, is received by local community while crossing an Israeli military checkpoint from Jerusalem for Christmas Eve celebrations at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally recognized by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Palestinian scouts carry posters, one reads "Peace for Gaza and its people," while they march during Christmas Eve celebrations at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally recognized by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
A Syrian Christian man holds up a cross and shouts slogans in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, during a protest march after a Christmas tree was set on fire in Hamah city on Sunday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Scouts line up during the traditional Christian procession towards the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People walk past a restaurant near the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Nigerian worshippers pray in the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Nigerian worshippers walk along the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Palestinian police line up next to Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Nuns walk along the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
