Jeff Friesen's goal with 2:04 left in overtime Wednesday night gave the San Jose Sharks a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

  San Jose's Vincent Damphousse scored with just 28 seconds left in regulation to lift the Sharks into a tie. Then Friesen's shot in overtime from about eight feet deflected off Dominik Hasek and into the right corner of the net.

  "I'm not sure how it went in," Friesen said. "Niklas Sundstrom made a great pass, and I just tried to get the shot away as quickly as I could."

  The Sabres took a 5-3 lead on third-period goals by James Patrick, 59 seconds in, and Curtis Brown at 8:48. San Jose's Tony Granato scored exactly three minutes after Brown on a driving, off-balance shot from 12 feet to cut the Sabres' lead to 5-4.

  Damphousse then scored his 19th goal, also assisted by Sundstrom.

  "Once I got the puck, I didn't even look before I shot," Damphousse said. "I just turned and slapped the puck the way I practice it. It's an unusual shot, and it's tough for the goalie to pick up because he can't see your eyes or head before you shoot."

  An interesting first period was highlighted by two San Jose short-handed scored within 1:09. Buffalo answered with two goals -- one on the power play -- in a period of just nine seconds.

  "It's tough when you give one away," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said, "especially when every point is crucial like it is toward the end of a season. This is the best we've skated all year, but it seemed like every mistake we made resulted in a goal for them."

  Owen Nolan got his 42nd goal for the Sharks from the right circle at 5:23. Marco Sturm followed at 6:32 with a shot from point-blank range that sneaked between Hasek's legs.

  Hasek, who missed 40 games this season because of a groin injury, said: "I'm not playing well right now. I have to get my game back in shape."

  Buffalo came back less than five minutes later. Doug Gilmour got his 23rd goal from the right circle at 11:08, as Sharks goalie Steve Shields appeared to be screened. Following the ensuing faceoff, Geoff Sanderson drove for a goal at 11:17.

  The Sabres record for fastest two goals is four seconds, set Oct. 17, 1974 when Lee Fogolin and Don Luce scored against California.

  Buffalo took a 3-2 lead 41 seconds into the second when Vladimir Tsyplakov scored on a 15-foot shot.

  The Sharks tied it with 4:02 left in the period when Alexander Korolyuk scored on a slap shot from the top of the left circle.

  San Jose is 3-0-1 in four games and 4-1-1 in six.

Summary

NHL FINAL IN OT         1ST  2ND  3RD  OT      TOTAL
                        ---  ---  ---  ---     -----
    BUFFALO              2    1    2    0        5
    SAN JOSE             2    1    2    1        6  FINAL IN OT

    GOAL SCORING:

      1ST PRD: SAN - (SH) OWEN NOLAN 42 (GARY SUTER, JEFF FRIESEN) 5:23
               SAN - (SH) MARCO STURM 11 (VINCENT DAMPHOUSSE) 6:32
               BUF - (PP) DOUG GILMOUR 23 (JASON WOOLLEY, MAXIM
                     AFINOGENOV) 11:08
               BUF - GEOFF SANDERSON 12 (UNASSISTED) 11:17
      2ND PRD: BUF - VLADMIR TSYPLAKOV 11 (CHRIS GRATTON, VACLAV VARADA)
                     0:41
               SAN - ALEX KOROLYUK 14 (MIKE RICCI, NIKLAS SUNDSTROM) 15:58
      3RD PRD: BUF - JAMES PATRICK 5 (DOUG GILMOUR, CURTIS BROWN) 0:59
               BUF - CURTIS BROWN 17 (MIROSLAV SATAN) 8:48
               SAN - TONY GRANATO 5 (RON SUTTER, RON STERN) 11:48
               SAN - VINCENT DAMPHOUSSE 17 (NIKLAS SUNDSTROM) 19:32
           OT: SAN - JEFF FRIESEN 23 (NIKLAS SUNDSTROM, MARCUS RAGNARSSON)
                     2:56

   POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: BUF - 1 OF 3, SAN - 0 OF 3.

   SHOTS ON GOAL:       1ST  2ND  3RD  OT      TOTAL
                        ---  ---  ---  ---     -----
                  BUF   13   12    8    4       37
                  SAN    7    7   10    2       26

         GOALIES: BUF - DOMINIK HASEK
                  SAN - STEVE SHIELDS

       OFFICIALS: REF - P DEVORSKI
                  LIN - HENDERSON, KNOX

             ATT: 17,483

Bert's back on blades Blue Jays boot game Bombers drop Peterson Felicien rebuilds race

Do you think Coyotes players should be punished for their actions after the team’s Game 5 loss to the Kings?   Yes   No   Unsure Results | Story Visit our Polls Archive