National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Philadelphia 5, Buffalo 4
When: 3:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 24, 2011
Where: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Chris Lee, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen: Brian Murphy, Tim Nowak
Attendance: 18690

Ville Leino scored 4:43 into overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers forced a pivotal Game 7 in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with a 5-4 road triumph over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.

Former Sabres captain Daniel Briere tallied twice and has five goals in the series. James van Riemsdyk and Scott Hartnell also scored and All-Star Claude Giroux notched a pair of assists for Atlantic Division champion Philadelphia, which will host Game 7 on Tuesday.

Michael Leighton made the start and permitted three goals on eight shots before being replaced by Brian Boucher, who stopped 24 of 25 shots.

In overtime, Kris Versteeg's shot from the high slot handcuffed Ryan Miller. The rebound fell at the doorstep and Leino alertly tapped it in to extend the series.

Thomas Vanek netted a pair of power-play goals, Rob Niedermayer and Nathan Gerbe also scored and defenseman Tyler Myers notched three assists for seventh-seeded Buffalo.

Miller turned aside 43 shots in the loss for the Sabres.

Veteran defenseman Chris Pronger returned after a 21-game absence with a broken hand and played just over 4 1/2 minutes.

Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Buffalo
Daniel Briere 2 Points Tyler Myers 3
Daniel Briere 2 Goals Thomas Vanek 2
Claude Giroux 2 Assists Tyler Myers 3
Daniel Briere 1 Power Play Goals Thomas Vanek 2
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Brian Boucher .960 Save Percentage Ryan Miller .898
Brian Boucher 24 Saves Ryan Miller 44
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 49 5 1-5 3-5 12 34
Buffalo 33 4 2-5 4-5 12 44
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Sabres have a W/L % of .395 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Flyers have a W/L % of .543 after a win and .600 after a loss.