Bruins fight way through

BUFFALO -- The Bruins might have jump-started their playoff run last night, as they outlasted the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-3 shootout victory.

"They got a point but they are going to win the [division], anyway," Bruin coach Dave Lewis said. "But we needed the 2 points. For us, this was something we really needed."

The Bruins set an aggressive tone early, went on the offensive, then maintained their composure after squandering a two-goal lead. The Sabres' tying goal was a controversial score by Daniel Briere that was not validated until the second period had ended and the Bruins were in the locker room.

In the shootout, Petr Tenkrat converted in the eighth round, officials ruling his attempt successful after a review of the play 3 hours 1 minute after the start of the game.

"We did well physically, and I'm not talking about the fights as much as the physical battles, the scrums," Lewis said. "I thought we did a good job as a team, we didn't get rattled because of some of our craziness in the second period. We kept the same mind-set as at the start."

Marco Sturm, who gave the Bruins a first-period lead, nearly decided the shootout, his wrist shot beating goalie Ryan Miller but hitting the crossbar. Tim Thomas saved eight Sabre shootout shots, but will likely be replaced in goal by Hannu Toivonen when the Bruins visit Philadelphia tomorrow.

"[The Sabres] have guys who usually score in shootouts, but he was so determined not to let the puck get by him," Lewis said of Thomas.

The Bruins nearly stalled at the start of a six-game road trip, falling Thursday to the New York Islanders, 4-1. But the Bruins never trailed the Eastern-leading Sabres last night, extending the lead to 3-1 as Shean Donovan (10:12) scored and then set up Marc Savard (13:43) in the second period. The Sabres converted power-play goals in a 47-second span late in the period, Chris Drury (18:20) cutting the deficit and Briere (19:07) tying the score.

But after Briere's goal appeared to have been saved by Thomas, the teams concluded the period, the Sabres remaining on the bench and ice, the Bruins departing.

"I waited and the referee said just go off," Lewis said. "There was miscommunication along the way. We had some guys totally undressed, that's why it took so long to come back. We though the period was over."

After the period officially concluded, Lewis held a three-minute discussion with referee Dan Marouelli.

Thomas said he believed Briere's shot had failed. "I thought I saved it," Thomas said. "I was pretty surprised, it was really close. It looks like they ended up making the right call, but in the old days it would have been a save. They had five views on it and on four of them you couldn't tell."

The Bruins set the tone early, with both Jeremy Reich and Andrew Ference involved in fights in the first period.

The Bruins kept the Sabres in retreat, with Zdeno Chara setting the tone defensively, and Bobby Allen and Jason York starting sequences that led to goals.

Sturm provided the lead, his shot deflecting in off Drury at 3:59. Chara started the sequence at the blue line, finding Sturm for a one-timer that went through center Phil Kessel, the deflection catching Miller off guard.

The Sabres tied the score at 14:13 as Drew Stafford was left alone in the right circle, then allowed to slip a backhander under Thomas as the Bruins closed too late.

Savard set up Glen Murray to nearly break the tie early in the second period, Murray's shot beating Miller but hitting the left post.

Midway through the period, the Bruins gained momentum. Donovan got ahead of the Sabres' defense to latch onto an Allen clearance, then wristed a shot from the right circle into the far side for a 2-1 advantage.

Chara was penalized for delay of game at 12:51 after flipping the puck into the Sabres' bench, but the Bruins scored a shorthanded goal 52 seconds later. Donovan collected the puck against the boards near the blue line and found Savard, who drew Miller out and backhanded the puck into an open net.

Late in the second period, Chara thrice went to the ice to block Sabres attempts as the Bruins performed with a two-man disadvantage. Drury cut the Sabres deficit with a shot from the left circle that slid past Chara and under Thomas at 18:20.

In the final minute, Briere was left alone at the left post and wristed the point-blank shot, play continuing as Thomas appeared to have made a spectacular recovery. The goal was then confirmed for a 3-3 tie.

The Bruins had a power play for the final 1:52 of regulation, and pressured in the final seconds with in-close shots by Murray, Chara, and Mark Mowers.

"It's great to get the win, but it sure is stressful going to all these shootouts," Thomas said. "A win against anybody is big right now. We are trying to get a playoff spot and we needed 2 points.

"We played an excellent first period and a mostly excellent second period. We had some calls go against us, we had some adversity, but we came back from it.

"Hopefully, we are building momentum. Hopefully, this is another step."