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Sabres' win sends Ottawa back to Buffalo for Game 5

Ryan Miller had 15 saves in the third period and Chris Drury and Derek Roy each had a goal and an assist to lead visiting Buffalo to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, as the Sabres stayed alive in the NHL's Eastern Conference final series.

Ryan Miller had 15 saves in the third period and Chris Drury and Derek Roy each had a goal and an assist to lead visiting Buffalo to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, as the Sabres stayed alive in the NHL's Eastern Conference final series.

The Sabres cut Ottawa's best-of-seven lead to 3-1, making Game 5 necessary in Buffalo on Saturday.

The Senators scored their two goals, by Peter Schaefer and Dean McAmmond, in a 1-minute, 46-second span of the second period, cutting Buffalo's lead to 3-2 with 3:19 left in the period. But Miller stopped 31 shots in all, the same number he stopped in a 1-0 loss on Monday.

Ottawa enjoyed back-to-back power plays in the third period but failed to beat Miller despite getting 10 shots on net during a 4:30 stretch.

Maxim Afinogenov also scored for Buffalo, which took control when Roy scored nine seconds into the game. The goal was set up by a turnover when Andrej Meszaros' clearing pass ticked off Roy's skate to Drury, who fed a pass back to Roy. He redirected the puck over Senators goalie Ray Emery.

The goals was the fastest in Sabres' playoff history, but still 3 seconds short of the NHL record.

The Sabres, who were outshot 33-22, scored their three goals on their first 10 shots of the game.

Noteworthy

* Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger was suspended for tonight's home game with the Red Wings for his hit on Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom in Tuesday's game.

Pronger, a former Norris Trophy winner and a finalist for the award this year, leads the Ducks with 12 points, including three goals, during the playoffs.

Holmstrom had two goals and an assist in the Red Wings' 5-0 victory that gave them a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference final series. He left the game midway through the second period to get 13 stitches to close two cuts on his forehead after Pronger and Rob Niedermayer slammed into him.

Niedermayer drew a major penalty for boarding and was ejected, but Pronger was not assessed a penalty on the play.

* Foward Jonathan Toews, the third overall pick in the 2006 entry draft, has signed a 3-year, entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.

* The Washington Capitals have agreed to terms on a 3-year, entry-level contract with center Nicklas Backstrom, the No. 4 overall pick in last year's draft.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins picked ICON Venue Group of Denver and HOK Sport of Kansas City, Mo., firms with track records in the NHL, to oversee the design and construction of their new arena. *