BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Excuse rookie forward Jason Pominville for not remembering the last time the Buffalo Sabres scored 10 goals.
It hasn't happened in almost 13 years, when Pominville was a 10-year-old growing up in Quebec.
He won't forget this one.
Pominville, with a natural hat trick, and Jochen Hecht scored three goals apiece in Buffalo's 10-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
``It's awesome,'' Pominville said. ``It doesn't happen too often. So it's fun to see the team work hard and have it finally pay off.''
Hecht also will have fond memories of the game after recording the first career three-goal game in his six-year NHL career
``Happy to get it out of the way, but it's also great for `Pommer' to get his first one, too,'' Hecht said.
Chris Drury had a goal and three assists, Ales Kotalik had a goal and two assists and Jay McKee and Daniel Paille also scored. Tim Connolly and Mike Grier had three assists each for Buffalo, which built a 5-0 lead 17 minutes in.
The 10 goals were the most the Sabres scored since a 10-7 win over Detroit on Feb 24, 1993. And Buffalo's five-goal first period was the team's best since scoring five in a 7-1 win over Washington on Dec. 31, 2003.
The Sabres also snapped a two-game winless streak (0-1-1), their longest since losing four straight from Nov. 2-9.
Jeff Cowan, scoring late in the first period, had the lone goal for the Kings, who gave up 10 goals for the first time since a 10-3 loss to Washington, Feb. 13, 1993. The margin of defeat matched the Kings' worst since a 9-0 loss to Montreal in the 1975-76 season opener.
``They walked all over us,'' Kings captain Mattias Norstrom said. ``A loss like this you start to talk about pride. As a team, as individuals, we got embarrassed out there.''
Goalie Mathieu Garon, coming off a 6-0 win at Boston on Thursday night, had the toughest night.
Garon allowed four goals on 10 shots and was pulled twice, the final time after Hecht scored on a screened shot from the right circle midway through the first period.
Hecht's two other goals came against backup Adam Hauser, who allowed six goals on 24 shots in his NHL debut.
The Sabres scored on three of their first six shots, the eruption beginning when McKee scored on a slap shot 1:06 into the game. Drury, set up in the slot by Grier, scored 13 seconds later, and Kotalik made it 3-0 off a rebound at 4:33.
The margin of victory, however, wasn't as important as the Sabres finally getting production in even-strength situations - something coach Lindy Ruff had stressed all week.
Buffalo finished with six even-strength goals, added three more on the power play, while Pominville also scored on a short-handed breakaway.
Drury made sure to remind everyone that this was only one game, while noting the Sabres prepare to open a six-game road swing, their longest of the season.
``It's nothing to gloat about,'' Drury said. ``It's two points and we'll move on.''
It didn't help that the Kings are a banged up team. Pavol Demitra missed his fourth game with a leg injury while Lubomir Visnovsky, second among NHL defenseman with 45 points (13 goals and 32 assists), did not play because of flu-like symptoms.
No excuses, Kings coach Andy Murray said, who did not address his team after the game.
``I said most of my things after the first and second periods,'' Murray said. ``I said my piece and it was time for them to come up with an explanation. ... We just weren't very good.''
Notes: The five goals allowed in a period were the most by Los Angeles since giving up six in an 8-3 loss to the Rangers on Dec. 15, 1999, according to Elias Sports Bureau. ... Hauser was with the Kings because regular backup Jason LaBarbera is with Manchester of the AHL on a conditioning assignment. ... Hecht was the last Sabres player to have a four-point game, with two goals and two assists in a 4-3 win at the New York Rangers on March 31, 2004.
