Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Brian Flynn scored the winner on the eighth shot of the shootout, and Buffalo escaped with a 3-2 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday.
Each side scored once through the first three rounds, then after Sean Couturier failed on his wrister, Flynn used two quick dekes to pull Ray Emery out of position and slide the deciding goal inside the right post.
Nicolas Deslauriers and Brian Gionta scored in regulation for the Sabres, who picked up their second road win in February. Michal Neuvirth came up with a 36-save effort.
"As far as points are concerned, certainly, it's good to get the two points," said Sabres head coach Ted Nolan. "For the last number of games, I thought our effort has been there. All one-goal games, and to finally come out on the better side of it is a good feeling for sure."
Ryan White and Jakub Voracek tallied for the Flyers, who have lost four of their last five with three of those coming beyond regulation. Emery ended up with 30 stops.
Deslauriers converted an easy chance in front at 4:41 of the first, but White countered and produced his first goal as a Flyer on a put-back of an errant Braydon Coburn shot which caromed off the back boards at 7:23.
Gionta was atop the Philly crease to tap home a knuckling Torrey Mitchell rebound for a 2-1 Sabres edge 38 seconds into the second, but Voracek chopped a Wayne Simmonds rebound home from the right side on a power play with 8:45 elapsed.
Buffalo appeared to have taken a 3-2 lead with 5:11 left when a shot from the right corner deflected off Zemgus Girgensons and sailed past a scrum in the crease. However, a brief review revealed the Latvian All-Star selection clearly directed the puck in with his glove.
The hosts survived a penalty to defenseman Nick Schultz late in regulation and forced Neuvirth to make four stops in overtime.
"They've been playing pretty good hockey. If you look all of their games were lost by one goal, they play a pretty tight game," said Philly captain Claude Giroux when asked if his team competed well against their opponents who won twice in their previous 21 games. "But that isn't an excuse we need to find a way to get the two points."
Game Notes
Buffalo snapped a five-game losing skid in Philadelphia by posting its first win there since a 5-2 result on March 5, 2011 ... Gionta's goal was his 500th career point, and he became the 49th American-born NHLer to achieve that milestone ... The Sabres upped their shootout mark to 7-2 this season while the Flyers slipped to 2-7.
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