Buffalo works overtime to force Game 7

BUFFALO, N.Y. – All Sabres center Daniel Briere wanted was to get his shot past the diving Carolina defensemen.

Then he saw the red light, heard the crowd cheer and suddenly: Game 7.

Briere scored a power-play goal 4:22 into overtime, his snap shot from the left circle dribbling in off goalie Cam Ward’s glove, to give Buffalo a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes. The win tied the Eastern Conference final, with the decisive game Thursday at Raleigh, N.C.

The winner will entertain the Edmonton Oilers in the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals Monday.

“I knew if the shot could just get to Ward and maybe we could jump on the rebound,” Briere said. “I saw the light go on, I saw the fans kind of jumping up, I couldn’t see much from the blue line. It’s a heck of a feeling.”

It was Briere’s second overtime goal this postseason.

J.P. Dumont also scored for Buffalo and rookie Ryan Miller stopped 25 Carolina shots.

The Sabres won despite facing elimination for the first time this postseason, and rallied after the Hurricanes appeared to grab the momentum by winning the previous two games.

It didn’t seem to matter that the Sabres squandered a 1-0 lead when Bret Hedican scored with 3:53 left in regulation for Carolina.

“It’s been our M.O. all year, just a fearless bunch of guys,” Sabres co-captain Chris Drury said. “We always seem to find a way. It’s certainly no different tonight. Just our poise, too.”

Now it’s up to the Hurricanes to respond.

“We can’t sulk and hang our heads,” defenseman Glen Wesley said. “We did a lot of positive things. … We took a penalty and almost had the kill. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win.”

Briere’s goal came with Doug Weight off for boarding for shoving Jason Pominville from behind in the Sabres end.

After failing to generate much in the first 1:40 of the power play, the Sabres had one final rush and got a break when Carolina’s Justin Williams stumbled inside his blue line.

Buffalo’s Derek Roy got to the loose puck and fed Rory Fitzpatrick at the right point. He quickly passed across to Briere at the top of the left circle. Briere patiently waited for an opening before snapping a shot that fluttered in.

“It went off my glove and shoulder and kind of popped in the air,” Ward said. “I had no idea where it went after it hit me. Unfortunately, it was too late when I looked back.”

A frustrated Weight admitted, “It’s a bad feeling.”