Sabres win 3-2, stave off elimination

Ottawa still has a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
OTTAWA (AP) -- Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres withstood a late Ottawa Senators rally and stayed alive in the Eastern Conference finals.
Miller was remarkable in stopping 15 shots in the third period, and Chris Drury and Derek Roy each had a goal and assist in a 3-2 win over Ottawa in Game 4 on Wednesday night.
The Sabres nearly squandered a three-goal lead but staved off elimination, cutting the Senators' best-of-seven series lead to 3-1 and making Game 5 necessary in Buffalo on Saturday.
It wasn't easy for the Sabres, who ended a three-game skid and won for the third time in eight games.
The Senators put a big scare into the Sabres, rallying for two goals in a 1:46 span, cutting Buffalo's lead to 3-2 with 3:19 left in the second period.
Miller, however, stopped 31 shots -- the same number he stopped in a 1-0 loss on Monday.
Key stretch
Ottawa enjoyed back-to-back power plays in the third period but failed to get a puck past Miller, despite getting 10 shots on net during a 4:30 stretch. Miller made a key save when he waved his glove and batted down Joe Corvo's snap shot from the slot.
Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden also had a shot from the slot sail just wide of an open left side.
Peter Schaefer and Dean McAmmond scored for the Senators, who had a six-game winning streak snapped and lost for only the second time in seven home games.
Maxim Afinogenov also scored for Buffalo, the Presidents' Trophy winner in the regular season.
One victory short of reaching the Stanley Cup finals for the first time, the Senators appeared ready to rally for the second time this series. They overcame a 2-0 Buffalo lead in a 4-3 double-overtime win in Game 2 on Saturday.
Taking control
The Sabres took control early when Roy scored 9 seconds in, quickly silencing a crowd that was still cheering the opening faceoff. The goal was set up by a turnover when Andrej Meszaros' clearing pass ticked off Roy's skate, directly to Drury just inside the Ottawa blue line.
Drury immediately fed a pass to Roy who, standing to the right of the net, redirected the puck over Ray Emery.
The goal was the fastest in Sabres playoff history, breaking the mark set last year when Henrik Tallinder scored 33 seconds in against Ottawa on May 13, 2006. It was still 3 seconds shy of the NHL playoff record, set by Los Angeles' Don Kozak on April 17, 1977.
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