Roy’s OT goal caps Sabres’ 4-3 win over Thrashers

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A crazy bounce off the glass allowed Derek Roy to score into an unattended net 4:02 into overtime, and the Sabres overcame a three-goal deficit for the second straight outing to beat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-3 on Friday night.

Jochen Hecht had two goals and an assist, Tim Connolly had a goal and assist, and Ryan Miller stopped 32 shots on the day he was selected to the U.S. Olympic team.

Buffalo was coming off a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night in which it also erased a 3-0 deficit.

The Sabres became the first team to win consecutive games when trailing by three or more goals since Dallas did it in January 2006 in beating Anaheim 4-3 in a shootout and Detroit 6-3.

Ilya Kovalchuk, registering his 600th career point, Bryan Little and Evander Kane scored for the Thrashers, 0-5-2 in their past seven games.

Roy’s goal came on what began as an innocent play. Skating up the left wing, Sabres rookie defenseman Tyler Myers got to the Thrashers’ blue line and dumped the puck in high along the boards.

Goalie Johan Hedberg anticipated the play, and immediately left his crease to go behind the net in a bid to play the puck. The puck, however, took a strange carom off the glass and bounced directly into the slot, where Roy swept it into the wide-open net.

The Sabres ended a six-game winless streak (0-1-5) against the Thrashers, beating Atlanta for the first time since a 10-1 win Jan. 18, 2008.