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Third-period surge lifts Sabres past Panthers

Oct 27, 2007 - 3:22 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Sabres used a three-goal, third-period outburst to finally receive some satisfaction on the road.

Drew Stafford scored the eventual game-winning goal and Jochen Hecht and Daniel Paille also tallied as the Sabres notched their first road victory in four attempts by defeating the Florida Panthers, 4-2, on Friday.

With the game tied at 2-2 and 8:48 remaining, Stafford wristed a shot on goal from inside the right faceoff circle. The puck deflected off goaltender Tomas Vokoun and straight up into the air.

Paille raised his stick over the crossbar to swat at the puck but did not make contact, and it fell behind a stunned Vokoun to give Buffalo a 3-2 advantage.

"I lost sight of the puck and it ended up falling into the net," Vokoun said. "It's a bad goal, and a bad break, too. The deciding goal in the game, that's a tough way to lose a game."

Stafford, quite naturally, had a different take on the tally.

"Sometimes you're waiting for one and it's not happening - you get a little frustrated," Stafford said. "It's a huge one for us. I saw that Danny had his stick up there.

"The team needed that. I needed that. I'll take it, they don't ask how."

Paille said he knew he never got his stick on the puck, even though the officials reviewed the play.

"I didn't touch it, I know that," he said. "Obviously, I was trying to hit it. I was thankful that I missed it."

Paille provided insurance with an outstanding individual effort nearly six minutes later.

After stealing the puck from defenseman Cory Murphy at Florida's blue line, Paille skated in before wristing a shot past Vokoun for a shorthanded goal.

"It was just good to get rewarded," Paille said.

Hecht's power-play tally with 8:25 expired in the third period had tied the game at 2-2.

"We deserved the breaks we got," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "We worked hard for what we got. I thought Danny's play was fabulous. He was a big part of the penalty-killing tonight."

The Panthers had many chances, but their power play could not convert despite having seven chances.

"I think the major factor was the specialty teams," Florida coach Jacques Martin said. "They got a power-play goal, they got a shorthanded goal. That was the difference in the hockey game, but we didn't win enough battles in front of the net for rebounds. We've got to be better."

Florida did not look like it would be a pleasant host when Jozef Stumpel opened the scoring just 1:45 into the game.

From the high slot, defenseman Jay Bouwmeester sent the puck back to Stumpel, who blasted a shot from 47 feet just under netminder Ryan Miller's arm for a 1-0 advantage.

Buffalo used a 5-on-3 advantage to level the game six minutes later. With Gregory Campbell and Brett McLean in the penalty box, defenseman Henrik Tallinder beat Vokoun from the left point.

The Panthers gained a 2-1 edge with 45 seconds remaining in the first, when Ville Peltonen grabbed the rebound of Stephen Weiss' shot and beat Miller.

That was the last goal Miller allowed as he finished with 33 saves. Vokoun stopped 29 shots for Florida.

"We couldn't hold them off, so it's upsetting," Florida's Nathan Horton said. "They got the lucky one, then they got another one. It's no fun when you're winning and you let them come back."

Stafford, however, looked like he had some fun on Friday.

"It feels great, especially with them getting the power-play chances they were getting," Stafford said. "We got a couple of lucky breaks at the end there, but I think we needed those. We're happy. We're smiling."