Daniel Briere scored twice, and the Buffalo Sabres hung on for a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes last night in Buffalo.
Ales Kotalik had a goal and assist and Chris Drury also scored to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Buffalo rallied with four consecutive goals to take a 4-1 lead 13 minutes into the second period.
“We knew we didn't do the job,” Briere said, referring to Buffalo's Game 2 loss on Monday. “We knew we had to improve our play. ... We knew we had to make a bigger difference and we did.”
Buffalo converted 2-of-7 power-play chances, while Kotalik's eventual winner came on a delayed penalty.
Eric Staal cut Buffalo's lead to 4-3 with 4:08 remaining, but Buffalo weathered the final flurry in which Carolina outshot the Sabres 11-4 in the third period and 3-0 in the last two minutes.
“We continued to work hard,” Staal said. “We had our chances.”
Cory Stillman scored twice for Carolina, which pulled goalie Cam Ward in favor of backup Martin Gerber after Ward gave up four goals on 26 shots.
The Sabres are 6-2 in their last eight playoff games – all decided by one goal.
Avalanche names GM
The Colorado Avalanche hired Francois Giguere as executive vice president and general manager.
Giguere, 42, had been assistant GM of the Dallas Stars for the past five years and began in NHL management with the Avs franchise in 1990.
