Comeback Backfires

Cue the Alanis Morissette song.

Isn't it ironic . . .

 The Flyers, who were atop the Eastern Conference standings for most of the regular season, are one loss away from a first-round playoff exit.

The Buffalo Sabres, who late in the season looked like they weren't going to qualify for the playoffs, outlasted the Flyers in overtime Friday night, 4-3, and need one more victory to move to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Isn't it ironic . . .

Tyler Ennis scored on a rebound with 14 minutes, 29 seconds left in overtime to give Buffalo the pulsating win at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sabres have a lead of three games to two in the series, which resumes Sunday afternoon in Buffalo.

The OT goal, scored on a juicy rebound allowed by Michael Leighton, wiped out a gallant comeback by the Flyers, who overcame an early 3-0 deficit to tie the score at 3-3.

Leighton relieved Brian Boucher (three goals on 11 shots) in the first period and stopped all 18 shots he faced heading into the overtime.

Ennis' goal was his second of the night.

"It's a tough situation. The D-man has to go up and block the puck, and he puts a little screen on me," Leighton said of the winning goal. "I just caught it [the sight of the puck] through him. The D has to do that, and it was just a lucky bounce right on the guy's tape."

The Flyers controlled play after Boucher went to the bench, and Leighton was not tested much.

"We kept the puck away from our end the first little while, and I didn't get many shots," said Leighton, who made his first NHL appearance in nearly four months. He began the playoffs as the Flyers' third-string goalie.

Danny Briere, converting a Mike Richards pass, lifted a backhander past Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to tie the score at 3-3 with 16:24 remaining in the third period. Briere had been stopped by Miller in a similar third-period situation in Buffalo's 1-0 win on Wednesday.

The Flyers outshot the Sabres, 39-32. All told, the Flyers attempted 87 shots, compared to Buffalo's 50. But the Sabres blocked 29 shots, while the Flyers blocked eight.

"The chances were lopsided Briere said. "It was a tough start. A 3-0 lead [for Buffalo], and the shots were 10-2. It's something we can improve on. . . . We can't hang our heads. We were in a worse position last year. This is group of guys who can do it."

The Flyers overcame a deficit of three games to none to stun the Bruins in last year's conference semifinals.

"If you ask any guy on this team, I don't think there's one guy who thinks we're not going to come back," said center Claude Giroux, who had a pair of assists. "Since when did we start doing something normal around here?"

Added Giroux: "We just have to get ticked off and go win that game in Buffalo and come back here in front of our fans."

Buffalo, which lost talented forward Jason Pominville to an undisclosed first-period injury, can take comfort in this stat: The Flyers are 2-14 when trailing a best-of-seven series, three games to two.

Goals by James van Riemsdyk (eight shots) and Andrej Meszaros 1:45 apart trimmed Buffalo's three-goal lead to 3-2 midway through the second period.

Thomas Vanek and rookie defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani also scored for Buffalo in the first period.