Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Buffalo Sabres know that they have the entire country of Latvia behind them, but their recent string of success may start to bring the rest of Western New York back into the fold. When the Sabres fell to 3-13-2 following a loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 13, those fans still left watching the club likely went to bed with continued fantasies of junior superstar Connor McDavid speeding around First Niagara Center sporting the navy blue and gold. After all, the Sabres seemed destined at having the best chance at securing the top selection in the upcoming draft, earning the right to select either McDavid or fellow center Jack Eichel. Both players are believed to have the ability to cornerstone a franchise, something Buffalo seemed to desperately need at the time. Maybe the Sabres still do, but head coach Ted Nolan and his players werent really on board with the whole tanking thing and have instead decided to, you know, go out and win games. Buffalo has won eight of 11 since that loss to the Wild. Now tied for 26th out of the 30 teams in the overall NHL standings, the Sabres are talking -- and more importantly playing -- like a team that believes it can win each night. I think this team has taken a 180 from where we were at the start of the year, said forward Matt Moulson. I think now we believe in each other and were competing a lot harder. We know what we have to do to have success and get wins. Thursdays home encounter with the Calgary Flames, a gutsy 4-3 win, was a perfect example of Sabres hockey as of late. Twice in the game, the Sabres failed to hold a lead and they then fell behind by a goal just 3:14 into the third frame. The Buffalo Sabres that took the ice in October and the early part of November likely would have folded and gone home, but not this newly-inspired bunch. Instead, future All-Star Zemgus Girgensons (more on that later) put home a game-tying goal and Moulson came through with a game-winner with 7:29 to play. That gave the Sabres a victory despite the squad getting outshot 45-19. It wasnt one of our better games, but it showed that the belief factor is starting to creep in. We werent in the game, but we still believed we could come back, said Nolan. There is no doubt that Nolans club plays with fire each night. Even during its string of success, the Sabres have scored more than two goals only twice in their last nine and remain dead-last in the NHL with 1.66 goals per game. But confidence in the defense and goaltending, especially Jhonas Enroth, has been key. The Sabres have allowed two goals or fewer five times over the aforementioned nine-game span and have avoided beating themselves with bad mistakes. Youre not going to have an A-game every night, but if youre doing those little things right, theyre going to pay off, noted Moulson. It has certainly helped Enroth, who is 7-2-0 over his last nine games with a 1.93 goals against average and .944 save percentage. Nolan pointed out after Thursdays win how the line of Moulson, Girgensons and Tyler Ennis, one that was put together back in mid-November, has helped to spark the club. Girgensons, meanwhile, is starting to become a little famous around the NHL, much like he already is back in his home country of Latvia. The 20-year-olds goal versus the Flames was his career-high ninth of the season, surpassing the eight he scored in 70 games as a rookie last season. Now, nine goals through 29 games and 16 points that dont even lead the team certainly dont scream All-Star, but the much-argued tradition of fan voting has led to an unforeseen turn of events. When Tuesdays update of the All-Star voting was released, Girgensons continued to pace the pack with 803,805 votes. To put that into perspective, the second-leading getter in votes is Chicagos Patrick Kane -- with 375,758. That, of course, is possible due to online voting, giving the entire world a say in who will skate in this seasons All-Star Game. According to the Sabres, 82 percent of Girgensons votes came from Latvians. Its crazy. People back home are just crazy hockey fans, Girgensons, the 14th overall pick of the 2012 draft and native of Riga, Latvia, told NHL Live on Wednesday. Its always been like that. Its fun, its cool, mixed emotions. Its funny at the same time. What isnt funny is teams still expecting to pick up easy wins against the Sabres. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. Getting Creative The Pittsburgh Penguins will try their best to acquire Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks before the Trade Deadline. Fake NFL Jerseys China . The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan. https://www.fakenfljerseys.com/ . The second-ranked Jayhawks will play the Miners of Texas-El Paso at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Fake NFL Jerseys Online . Anor had not scored since getting his first two goals of the season vs. Philadelphia on March 22 but struck with laser precision from distance in the 56th and 75th minutes. Montreal (3-10-5) lost its third straight and Impact coach Frank Klopas said it literally was a case of his players not stepping up. Fake NFL Jerseys Wholesale .C. -- The RBC Cups semifinal participants were decided by a pair of overtime games.Newcastle go into their match against Swansea at St James Park knowing that only a victory will give them a chance of remaining in the race for survival. The Tynesiders are six points adrift of safety with as many games remaining and manager Rafael Benitez will be aiming to record his first victory since taking over.They also face Manchester City at home on Tuesday and the next two matches could go a long way towards deciding their fate. The Swans head into the match having hit the 40-point mark courtesy of their 1-0 win against reigning Premier League champions Chelsea last time out. Why Rafael Benitez thinks Newcastles match with Swansea could define their Premier League season Team newsMidfielder Jack Colback is available for Newcastle after serving a two-match ban for collecting 10 bookings.He will be joined in the squad by left-back Paul Dummett on his return from a hamstring injury, but Benitez will be without right-back Daryl Janmaat, who was prepared to play with two broken fingers but also has a groin injury.He joins keepers Tim Krul and Rob Elliot (both knee) and defenders Fabricio Coloccini (calf), Steven Taylor (muscle strain), Massadio Haidara (knee) and Kevin Mbabu (hip) on the sidelines Jack Colback is available for Newcastle Leon Britton has recovered from a back injury and rejoins the Swansea squad but faces a fight to return to the starting line-up after the Swans beat Chelsea in his absence last weekend.Jack Cork annd Leroy Fer look set to continue in central midfield and Alberto Paloschi should again get the nod over Bafetimbi Gomis in attack as head coach Francesco Guidolin selects from a full-strength squad.dddddddddddd.Opta statsNewcastle have won just one of their nine Premier League games against Swansea (W1 D2 L6).Swansea have won just three of their last 17 Premier League away matches (W3 D5 L9).The Swans have lost none of their last four Premier League trips to St James Park, including winning the last three in a row.Newcastles 25-point tally after 32 games in their worst at this stage of a Premier League season; surpassing their previous lowest in 2008-09 (30 points) when they were relegated. Gylfi Sigurdsson has scored in nine of his last 14 Premier League appearances Gylfi Sigurdsson has scored in nine of his last 14 Premier League appearances for Swansea.On Christmas Day, Newcastle (17 points) were two points ahead of Swansea (15) after 17 games. Since then, the Magpies have picked up just eight points in 15 games, while Swansea have won 25 points in 16 games.Newcastle have won just one point in their last seven Premier League matches (W0 D1 L6).Paul Mersons predictionNo matter what the result is in the early kick-off between Norwich and Sunderland, Newcastle have to win. A Norwich win and a Newcastle defeat will near-enough send Benitezs side down. Newcastle lost 3-1 at Southampton last weekend If you have watched Newcastle recently, defensively they have been atrocious. However, Im backing Newcastle to win. They have to put everything on the line on Saturday and for me, that will be enough.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 8/1)BettingNewcastle are Sky Bets 5/4 favourites to take a much-needed three points off 11/5 shots Swansea, despite picking up only one point from the last 21 available. The Magpies are odds-on for the drop and will be hopeful that the Swans take their foot off the gas after securing their own top flight survival. The visitors have scored at least two goals against Newcastle in each of their last five meetings and are 2/1 to score two or more at St James Park. Check out tips from our Sky sports pundits including Phil Thompsons tip of Aleksandar Mitrovic to score in a Newcastle win which is Price Boosted to 4/1. Bet here. ' ' ' seven-game trip on Thursday. Bourn is on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He was eligible to be activated on the weekend, but has made only one minor league rehab appearance and needs to play more. ... The Indians are 148-155 in interleague play. The Padres are 119-155 against AL teams. ' ' 'A of possession for long periods, while using possession to slow the game down.Late on, Mueller could have scored his second, but lost the ball as he tried to round goalkeeper Akinfeev.CSKA management has said it expects the Russian champions other two group stage home games to be played without fans as punishment for pending UEFA charges of fan racism and violence during the defeat to Roma earlier this month.Last years match between Bayern and CSKA in Russia was also played under a partial stadium ban after UEFA ruled that CSKA fans had racially abused Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure.Bayerns next Champions League match is a trip to Roma on October 21, when CSKA hosts Man City. ' ' '