Sabres

Daniel Briere scored two goals, including the winner at 3:57 of overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 victory against the New York Rangers on Sunday. Briere beat goalie Kevin Weekes to the glove side on a rush to give the Sabres their fifth win in a game in which they trailed by at least two goals. Buffalo was behind 3-1 midway through the second period. The Sabres (12-1-1) failed to earn a point for the first time Saturday in a 4-1 defeat against Toronto.

Chris Drury and the Buffalo Sabres beat the high-scoring Ottawa Senators at their own game. Drury scored 18 seconds into overtime after Tim Connolly netted his second goal of the night with 10.7 seconds left in regulation, and the Sabres stunned the Senators with a 7-6 victory Friday in a wild Eastern Conference semifinal opener. The teams scored three goals in the final 1:37 of regulation as Buffalo's Derek Roy tied it at 5-5 with a short-handed effort for his second of the game at 18:23.

Dominik Hasek continued his recent shutout surge, making 33 saves to lead the Buffalo Sabres over the New York Rangers, 2-0, Sunday night at New York. Hasek, who has five shutouts in his last 16 games, was especially sharp in the second period when the Rangers outshot the Sabres, 16-7. Two of Hasek's saves came on point-blank shots by Wayne Gretzky on breakaways. The Sabres got goals from Miroslav Satan in the first period and Mike Peca in the second period.

Clint Malarchuk, 7-0-1 in goal for the Gulls, came back to the team Monday after a 10-day stint in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres. Malarchuk, a 10-year NHL veteran, did not play for the Sabres during that stint. He returns to the Gulls with a 2.31 goals against average, second in the IHL behind teammate Rick Knickle (15-1-2). "Obviously, we're pleased to have Clint back," Gulls Coach Rick Dudley said. "With him back, we can go back to having one of the top goaltending duos in the league."

Larry Quinn's rocky 17-month tenure as president and chief executive officer of the Buffalo Sabres ended Wednesday when he was fired by John Rigas, the team's new owner. "Given our management structure and style, it is in the best interests of the Sabres' organization for us to make a change," said Rigas, whose son, Timothy, will succeed Quinn as CEO. * Wayne Gretzky will not play for Canada at the World Hockey Championships in Zurich, Switzerland May 1-17.

The Buffalo Sabres signed holdout right wing Matthew Barnaby to a three-year contract Saturday. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal includes two option years, the latter of which can be exercised by the team. The signing comes two weeks after left wing Brad May suffered a shoulder injury that is expected to keep him out of the lineup up to three months. Barnaby, 23, had 15 goals and 16 assists with a league-leading 335 penalty minutes in 73 games last season.

Daniel Briere scored the only goal in a shootout and Ryan Miller stopped Carolina cold to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 victory over the Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C., in a season-opening rematch of last year's Eastern Conference finals. Jason Pominville and Chris Drury each had goals during regulation for the Sabres, who claimed they were motivated all off-season by their Game 7 loss to Carolina.

Dominik Hasek had 32 saves and the streaking Buffalo Sabres moved a little closer to a playoff berth by beating the struggling New Jersey Devils, 5-0, on Thursday night at East Rutherford, N.J. Doug Gilmour had three assists and Curtis Brown scored twice as the Sabres remained tied with Montreal for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Montreal 5, Tampa Bay 1--Patrice Brisebois scored twice and the Canadiens kept pace with Buffalo with a victory at Montreal.

Buffalo Sabre goalie Dominik Hasek likely will be sidelined for at least three more games because of a hairline fracture in one of his ribs. Buffalo recalled Scott Buhler from Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League to back up Steve Shields.

Buffalo Sabre holdout right-winger Matthew Barnaby agreed to a three-year contract. Terms were not disclosed. Barnaby, who earned $275,000 last season, had 15 goals, 16 assists and a league-high 335 penalty minutes in 73 games.