Sabres’ furious rally pays off with a win

The end of the Buffalo Sabres’ winning streak didn’t seem to cool them off at all.

Buffalo rallied from a three-goal, third-period deficit and beat Boston, 5-4, in a shootout Thursday night at Boston, with Ales Kotalik scoring the tying goal with 95 seconds left in regulation and then converting the last shot in the shootout.

The Sabres won their first 10 games before falling to Atlanta in a shootout on Saturday despite rallying from four one-goal deficits. They trailed Boston 4-1 before Maxim Afinogenov scored with 8:49 left in regulation; he got another with 2:30 left and Kotalik tied it only 55 seconds later.

“I still can’t believe it happened. I guess that’s what we’re capable of,” said goalie Ryan Miller, who stopped 30 shots and then two out of three in the shootout. “We were in a deep hole. This shows we don’t quit.”

New York Rangers 3, San Jose 1 -- Backup goalie Kevin Weekes stopped 29 shots in his second victory in two games, and the Rangers finished a successful trip with a win at San Jose.

Montreal 4, Carolina 0 -- Cristobal Huet stopped 31 shots to lead the Canadiens to their first victory at Raleigh, N.C., since March 21, 2003.

New York Islanders 5, New Jersey 2 -- The line of Trent Hunter, Mike York and Miroslav Satan combined for two first-period goals for the Islanders in a victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

Tampa Bay 5, Philadelphia 2 -- Martin St. Louis scored two goals and goaltender Johan Holmqvist recorded his first NHL victory at Philadelphia to help the Lightning break a three-game losing streak.

Florida 4, Toronto 2 -- Rostislav Olesz and Olli Jokinen scored in the first period, and the Panthers held on behind 23 saves by Ed Belfour at Sunrise, Fla.

Minnesota 5, Vancouver 2 -- Nick Schultz scored to break a tie early in the third period, helping the Wild shake off a sluggish start in the victory at St. Paul, Minn.

St. Louis 4, Colorado 1 -- Manny Legace made 44 saves, Bill Guerin scored twice, Doug Weight assisted on all four goals -- giving him nine assists in his last five games -- and the Blues won at home.

Detroit 2, Chicago 1 -- Henrik Zetterberg and Robert Lang scored early in the third period at Chicago to help the Red Wings win their fifth in a row.