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Stafford's hat trick lifts Sabres over Bruins

Dec 16, 2010 - 5:11 AM Buffalo, NY (Sports Network) - Drew Stafford notched his third career hat trick as Buffalo topped Boston, 3-2, at HSBC Arena.

Derek Roy added three assists and Ryan Miller made 32 saves for the Sabres, who won for the fourth time in six games.

David Krejci and Michael Ryder tallied for the Bruins, who have dropped two in a row after winning four of five. Tuukka Rask allowed three goals on 35 shots.

Ryder slid a shot past Miller on a Boston power play at the 6:21 mark of the third period and the Bruins led 2-1, but only 32 seconds later Stafford tied the game with a crisp shot from the slot off a Roy pass.

The visitors had a goal wiped out just after the midway point of the third, when Bruins forward Shawn Thornton interfered with Miller.

Stafford then completed his trifecta on the ensuing power play with 9:05 to play when he gathered in a Roy chance from the left side of the crease and scored into a half-open net.

"If you miss the net on those chances, when you're on a 3-on-2 rush, you're going to face a scoring chance going the other way," said Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff on his club's narrow margin for error in the third. "We had a couple really good chances, but on the flipside it almost turned against us."

Buffalo had a man advantage for the final 1:38, but the Bruins had the better of the chances down the stretch with Rask pulled for an extra skater. Nonetheless, Miller stayed strong and the Sabres emerged victorious.

"Yeah, sure once that shift was over we had the momentum on our side," Thornton said of Boston's go-ahead goal before Buffalo responded. "They did a good job of getting it back. We had to battle to the end and we just couldn't get it going."

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead with 2:31 left in the first period as Krejci tipped in a centering pass by Dennis Seidenberg.

Buffalo countered just over a minute later on a power play as Stafford stuffed home a Roy rebound.

Game Notes

Stafford's last three-goal game came on January 27, 2009 in a 10-2 win at Edmonton...The Bruins had won the first two meetings this season and three in a row over the Sabres...It was Buffalo's first home win against Boston since January 29.