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Thomas stands tall in shootout to lead Bruins

Jan 15, 2007 - 11:06 PM BOSTON (Ticker) -- Tim Thomas came up big for the Boston Bruins.

Thomas stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout as the Bruins posted a 3-2 victory over the suddendly slumping Buffalo Sabres.

After allowing two goals on eight shots in the first period, Thomas was stellar the rest of the way, turning aside all 28 shots he faced. He made 14 saves in a brilliant third period, including a game-saver on Derek Roy with 1:35 remaining.

Thomas also was huge in the shootout, stopping shots by Daniel Briere, Ales Kotalik and Thomas Vanek. He also outplayed Buffalo All-Star netminder Ryan Miller.

"It still isn't any fun but at least I go in with some confidence," Thomas said. "It is not like I'm going to win this every time. It's more like the confidence is there that if I can get a couple of stops then we can get a couple of goals."

"Tim responded very well and that is what you need," Bruins coach Dave Lewis said. "It is not a goaltenders battle, it is team against team."

Marco Sturm scored in the first round of the shootout for the Bruins, when he put a quick shot over the left shoulder of Miller.

Marc Savard and P.J. Axelsson scored in the first period for the Bruins, who beat the Sabres for the first time in three tries this season.

Axelsson's eighth tally of the season with under one second left in the opening session tied the game at 2-2.

Roy and Jochen Hecht scored less than four minutes apart in the first period for Buffalo, which has lost a season-high three straight games. The Sabres, who won their first 10 games this season, still lead the Eastern Conference with 65 points.

"Obviously we get a chance to play these guys again real soon so we have to regroup and try to get a win at home," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We did not play very well in the first period, it could have easily been 5-1.

"Ryan held us in there and we were pretty soft in our own end. I thought we dominated the play in the second half of the third period and probably could have won it a number of times there but the game goes with momentum and they won it in the shootout."

Miller was a major reason the Sabres even were able to garner a point. He dove across the crease and made an acrobatic save with his stick in mid-air off a shot from defenseman Paul Mara in the slot with 3:08 remaining in the third period.

"I still don't know how he saved it," Lewis said. "I watched the replay. I watched it live and he never quits on a puck and that is one of the biggest reasons he made that save."