flag that symbolized unification during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.W

NEWARK, N.J. -- With a four game road trip looming, the New Jersey Devils knew how important two back-to-back, home-and-home sets would be. Kyle Quincey said the teams goal was to win all four games.New Jersey went out and did just that.Nick Lappin and Kyle Palmieri scored in the second period to lead the Devils to a 4-2 victory over the Sabres on Saturday night, beating Buffalo for the second straight night. Earlier in the week, New Jersey beat Carolina twice in three nights.When you look at the wins, its a combination of very good effort by the players, making smart decisions, making right decisions, making good plays, playing with passion, playing with purpose and having some mental toughness, Devils coach John Hynes said. I think when you look at this past week weve had those things more times than not, and thats why weve been able to find a way to win.Quincey and John Moore also scored for the Devils, and Cory Schneider stopped 21 shots. Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique and Damon Severson had two assists each.Marcus Foligno and Matt Moulson scored for the Sabres, who have lost four straight. Robin Lehner finished with 23 saves.Lappin gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 6:11 of the second as he took a pass from Hall on a 2-on-1 and fired a shot past Lehner for his second career goal.Hes one of the most skilled players in the league so when I see him get the puck there I have a pretty good feeling its going to end up on my stick if hes passing it, Lappin said. I was just waiting for it and he made a great play and I was able to get it in.Palmieri made it 3-1 from the right circle with 8:47 left in the second for his third of the season. The goal withstood a video review after the Sabres challenged for an offside call.Moores shot off a pass from Henrique on a 2-on-1 trickled by Lehner 6 1/2 minutes into the third to give the Devils a three-goal cushion.The goal came during 4-on-4 play. Buffalos Evander Kane was sent to the penalty box for hooking Vernon Fiddler at 5:32. However, the Devils power play was short-lived as Severson was whistled for cross-checking the Sabres Johan Larsson 42 seconds later.Moulson capped the scoring at 9:43 of the third period with William Carrier getting his first NHL point on the play.Quincey scored his first goal with New Jersey for a 1-0 lead 4:01 into the game as his slap shot from right in front of the blue line found the back of the net.The Sabres tied it 3:41 into the second period as Brian Gionta picked off a pass by Jacob Josefson and found Folingo, who had a clear path to the goal.We had that push back, we were able to tie it up and when they are able to stop the momentum and create one of their own, Brian Gionta said. Its tough.Game notes The Devils went 0 for 4 on power play, extending their streak to 20 straight man-advantage situations without a goal. ... New Jersey signed its third-round draft pick, 19-year-old forward Brandon Gignac, to a three-year, entry level contract. Gignac has five goals and 11 assists through 14 games with the QMJHLs Shawinigan Cataractes this season. ... The Devils acquired Petr Straka from the Flyers for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2017 or 2018 NHL Draft. Straka will report to Albany (AHL). ... The Devils wore camouflage jerseys in warm-ups for Military Appreciation Night. ... This was the second of three games the teams will play this season. The final game is Feb. 6 at Prudential Center. ... This was the second of the Sabres league-high 19 back-to-back sets this year.UP NEXTBuffalo: At St. Louis on Tuesday night.New Jersey: At Dallas on Tuesday night. Adidas Stan Smith Clearance . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Adidas Stan Smith Discount . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. http://www.cheapstansmithaustralia.com/ . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Buy Adidas Stan Smith Australia . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Adidas Stan Smith Australia . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Nothing is ever easy for the rival Koreas, even that most ubiquitous and usually innocent of Olympic interactions, the selfie.Like dozens of athletes at the Rio Games, gymnasts Hong Un Jong of North Korea and Lee Eun-ju of South Korea met on the sidelines during competition and training.The 17-year-old Lee, who is at her first Olympics, posed Thursday for a smiling selfie with Hong, a 27-year-old veteran. That friendly encounter and others between the two were captured by journalists -- and immediately took on larger significance for two countries still technically at war.Such meetings are not illegal in South Korea, but they are complicated by the two countries long history of animosity and bloodshed.Hong became the first female gymnast from North Korea to win a gold medal in 2008, when Lee was 9 and living in her native Japan. Lee moved to South Korea in 2013 because her Korean father wanted her to learn more about the countrys culture.A few days after the selfie was taken, Lee and Hong met again Sunday while on the floor at the same time during preliminary competition. Lee was eliminated, while Hong will compete in the vault final.IOC President Thomas Bach described the Koreans selfie as a great gesture.Fortunately, we see quite a few of these gestures here during the Olympic games, Bach said Tuesday.Photos of their warm moments delighted many South Koreans and provided a rare note of concord in otherwise abysmal relations between the rivals. It is unclear if the gymnasts interaction was seen in the North, an authoritarian state with extremely limited press freedom and where access to outside media is usually blocked.The Korean Peninsula is still technically in a state of war because there has been no peace treaty signed to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War. Nearly 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea, and the neighbors regularly trade insults and warnings of war, including recent threats from the North of missile strikes on Seoul and its ally, Washington.A web of laws, most left over from the days when the South was ruled by a dictatorship, govern how South Koreans are supposed to interact with North Koreans. Travel and communication are severely restricted; even praising the North is illegal in the South.South Koreans are required by law to obtain government permission for any planned meeting, communication or other contact with North Koreans.ddddddddddddThis requirement is waived for spontaneous interactions with North Koreans that can happen during foreign travel, like the Olympics. But South Koreans must still provide an account of what happened to the South Korean Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean issues, within seven days, according to the ministry.So while its OK for South Korean athletes to talk to the North Koreans they meet at the Olympics, they must later submit reports about the encounters to their Olympic committee, which will then pass the information to the government.These brief, friendly moments between North and South Korean athletes at the Olympics may not seem to be a big deal to outsiders, but they often stimulate deep emotions on the Korean Peninsula, which has been divided by the worlds most heavily armed border for decades and where many long for eventual reunification.Inter-Korean ties, never good, have been terrible in the past decade of conservative rule in the South. But there were friendlier days under previous liberal governments in Seoul, and they were often seen most clearly in sports. North and South Koreans, for instance, marched together under a flag that symbolized unification during the 2000 Sydney Olympics.Whatever happens in politics, many South Koreans love seeing their athletes treating North Korean competitors with respect, and theres always lots of media attention on these moments of harmony. North Korea also cherishes the idea of unification, and much of its propaganda is aimed at stirring such feelings in the South, though the Norths vision is of a single Korea controlled by Pyongyang.When North Koreas womens soccer team won gold at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, and the South won bronze, many South Koreans expressed delight in seeing players from both countries celebrate together after the medal ceremony, smiling and putting their arms around each other.Similarly, the Rio Olympic selfies represent a small thaw in otherwise frigid ties -- just as long as its all reported to the authorities.---AP writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this story from Seoul, South Korea.---Follow Foster Klug, APs Seoul bureau chief, at www.twitter.com/apklug ' ' '