Rookie Tyler Ennis scored his second goal of the contest just 5:31 into overtime as the Buffalo Sabres rebounded after squandering a three-goal lead to secure a 4-3 road triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
The seventh-seeded Sabres claimed a 3-2 advantage in the series and will look to close out the Atlantic Division champion Flyers when the teams reconvene in western New York for Game 6 on Sunday.
Ennis and Thomas Vanek scored on sharp-angle shots early in the first period, rookie defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani netted a 4-on-3 power-play goal and Ryan Miller turned aside 36 shots for Buffalo.
In overtime, the Flyers failed to clear the puck and the Sabres made them pay. Defenseman Mike Weber's blast was denied by Michael Leighton, but Ennis alertly knocked home the rebound to end the game.
Defenseman Andrej Meszaros collected a goal and an assist for his second multi-point effort of the series. Former Sabres captain Daniel Briere and James van Riemsdyk also tallied for Philadelphia.
Last year's Stanley Cup netminder, Leighton came in for an ineffective Brian Boucher and stopped 20 shots.
Buffalo | Philadelphia | |
Tyler Ennis 2 | Points | Andrej Meszaros 2 |
Tyler Ennis 2 | Goals | Andrej Meszaros 1 |
Paul Gaustad 1 | Assists | Claude Giroux 2 |
Marc-Andre Gragnani 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Ryan Miller .923 | Save Percentage | Michael Leighton .952 |
Ryan Miller 36 | Saves | Michael Leighton 20 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Buffalo | 32 | 4 | 1-3 | 5-5 | 12 | 36 |
Philadelphia | 39 | 3 | 0-5 | 2-3 | 8 | 29 |