Sabres oust top-seeded Senators

Other than Jason Pominville, nobody was happier or quicker to celebrate his overtime goal than Jay McKee.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh man, he’s got a chance here,’ ” said McKee, who was in the penalty box when Pominville scored a short-handed goal 2:26 into the extra period to give Buffalo a 3-2, series-ending victory over top-seeded Ottawa Saturday night in Ottawa.

“I saw him get around on the outside and my eyes just widened, and all of a sudden it was in and I got out of there as fast as I could,” McKee said. “I looked to my right and he was coming right for me so I just gave him a big bear hug and we got clobbered by the rest of the guys. It was a pretty neat feeling.”

With McKee off for tripping Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson 1:44 into the extra period, Pominville burst down the left side and cut in front of goalie Ray Emery to tuck the puck past the rookie and give Buffalo its third overtime winner of the series.

“I think we were the only people who thought we could win the series,” Pominville said. “We proved we are a good team.”

Ryan Miller made 34 saves for Buffalo, which won the best-of-7 series 4-1 to advance to the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina-New Jersey winner.

Devils 5, Hurricanes 1: Plagued by bad bounces and misfortune throughout the first three games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Hurricanes, New Jersey busted out with three first-period goals – all by its maligned special teams – and cruised to a victory in East Rutherford, N.J., that averted a sweep and forced the best-of-7 series back to Carolina.

Only two NHL teams have rallied from a 0-3 deficit to win.