Panthers growl, don't bite Sabres in OT

Published Feb. 10, 2011 9:07 p.m. ET

foxsports

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- This time, the puck went in for Tyler Myers.

Myers scored at 4:55 in overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Myers' slap shot from well above the right circle went over Tomas Vokoun's left shoulder for his seventh goal of the season.

"I just happened to notice that a couple of their forwards got caught down low and the puck came to me," he said. "I just decided to go with it. I didn't even realize there was 5 seconds left when I took the shot."

In the second period, Myers had a shot ring off the crossbar that would have given the Sabres a 2-0 lead. It was reviewed and the officials ruled that the puck didn't cross the goal line.

"They didn't give us a lot of quality chances and I thought it would probably take a heck of a shot for us to win the hockey game," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "You might look at it as a lucky shot, but it was the same spot (Myers) shot it in the second (period), maybe a little lower."

Mike Weber and Thomas Vanek also scored for the Sabres, who lost their two previous games against the Panthers this season. Ryan Miller made 24 saves.

The Sabres won for the eighth time in 11 games.

"We kept our composure and got (the game) into extra time and we just said 'let's go for it,'" Vanek said. "It was just a great shot by Myers."

Steve Bernier and Marty Reasoner scored for Florida, which has lost five straight home games. Vokoun stopped 24 shots.

Vanek scored at 8:59 of the third, giving Buffalo a 2-1 lead with his seventh goal in his last 11 games. Jason Pominville passed the puck from behind the goal line to the front of the net, where Vanek poked it past Vokoun.

The lead didn't last long. Reasoner took a pass from Dennis Wideman and his wrist shot beat Miller on the stick side, tying it at 2 midway through the period.

The Panthers tied it a 1-all on Bernier's power-play goal in the second. Jason Garrison took a shot from the point and the puck went through traffic and was deflected by Bernier into the back of the net at 18:38.

"We found a way to lose that point again," Bernier said. "It's frustrating but the last thing we want to do is to put our heads down. When you win, you get confident and go up in the standings."

The Sabres took a 1-0 lead on Weber's goal at 10:22 of the second. The Sabres won the faceoff at the right circle and the puck was sent back to the blue line. Weber took the shot from the point and the puck got through a maze of traffic, glanced off a defensman's skate and past Vokoun.

NOTES: Florida RW Jack Skille, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, saw his first action with the Panthers. ... Miller started his 30th consecutive game, dating to Nov. 26 against Toronto. Miller's consecutive starts streak is the longest in the NHL this season.

Updated February 10, 2011