Sabres 4, Senators 3, SO

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OTTAWA - Jason Pominville and Derek Roy scored in the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres earned a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller stopped Antoine Vermette and Daniel Alfredsson before Jason Spezza scored on Ottawa's third attempt.

Roy forced a forehand into the net as Senators goalie Martin Gerber - who was beaten by Pominville's shot to the top-right corner on the Sabres' second attempt - was unable to keep the puck out as he slid into the back of the net.

Paul Gaustad scored with 1:26 remaining in the third to send the game to overtime and assure the Sabres of a crucial standings point.

Maxim Afinogenov and Jochen Hecht scored in the first period for Buffalo, which is 10th overall in the East with 83 points.

The Sabres are three points behind ninth-place Washington, and five back of Philadelphia and Boston - currently tied for seventh - for a berth in the playoffs.

Mike Fisher gave Ottawa a 3-2 lead early in the third with his second goal of the game.

Spezza also scored for the Senators, who moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 92 points, one ahead of the New York Rangers and New Jersey.

Fisher scored his 22nd goal 4:17 into the second to tie it at 2-2 before adding his second of the game - his 23rd - during a 4-on-4 situation 3:58 into the third.

Gerber made 36 saves in his 13th consecutive start for Ottawa.

Miller stopped 25 shots, though he had little chance on Fisher's second goal.

With each team playing a man short, Vermette took a pass from defenceman Andrej Meszaros at the right point and drove the left side.

Vermette fed a centring pass to Fisher, who redirected the puck past Miller into the right side of the net.

Ottawa's Cory Stillman left the game with what the team described as a lower-body injury. He did not return.

Spezza opened the scoring with his 33rd goal 7:35 in. The playmaking Ottawa centre drove the right wing on a 2-on-1 and faked a shot, holding the puck before beating Miller with a tight-angle shot between the pads.

Afinogenov tied it 55 seconds later when he beat Gerber for his 10th goal at 8:30.

Roy got his second straight assist when Hecht scored a power-play goal at 12:45 to put the Sabres up 2-1.

Notes: Two of the Sabres' five remaining games are against the Bruins. ... Senators D Wade Redden missed his second game in a row because of a bruised knee. D Brian Lee, who made his NHL debut Tuesday, played his second straight game .... With an attendance of 19,883, the Senators recorded their 32nd straight sellout at Scotiabank Place.