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 Jason Pominville had two goals and two assists and the Sabres scored six times on their final 10 shots to overcome a 4-1 deficit. Derek Roy had a goal and two assists and Drew Stafford set up three goals in helping Buffalo inch within a point of Philadelphia for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff berth.
The Sabres overcame a three-goal deficit for the first time since a 5-4 win over Toronto on March 23, 2007. And it marked their third come-from-behind win over the Lightning this season. Buffalo rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits, including a 4-3 overtime win on Feb. 20.
The Sabres swept the four-game series against Tampa Bay, with Vanek producing three game winners.
Vincent Lecavalier scored twice, including his 39th of the season, for the Lightning, the East's last-place team, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Down 4-1, the Sabres scored four times in an 8-minute span, with Vanek putting the Sabres ahead for good with 6:46 remaining. Roy set up the play by beating defender Shane O'Brien to the puck in the right corner, and feeding Vanek in the high slot.
Vanek sidestepped Junior Lessard, and snapped a low shot that sneaked inside the right post past screened goalie Karri Ramo.
Vanek added his 31st goal of the season 3 minutes later, batting the puck out of the air into the net after Ramo stopped Roy's initial shot.
The Sabres extended their winning streak to three games, a stretch in which they've outscored their opponents 20-7
The Lightning appeared in full control, up 4-1 entering the third period after Lecavalier scored twice in the second, and after the lifeless Sabres were booed off the ice after mustering two shots.
Pominville started the Sabres rally 5:03 into the third when he poked in Paul Gaustad's centering feed, after Gaustad won a faceoff to the left of the Lightning net. Hecht scored 16 seconds later with a snap shot from the right circle after eluding Lecavalier in the corner.
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Vanek then tied it at 4 at the 8:25 mark, tipping in Roy's shot from the left circle. The goal was initially credited to Roy, but NHL officials gave it to Vanek, who enjoyed his third three-goal game of the season, and second straight against Tampa Bay.
Martin St. Louis had a goal and assist and Jeff Halpern, extending his point streak to five games (four goals, four assists), also scored for the Lightning.
Tampa Bay also might have lost defenseman Paul Ranger, who was holding his left arm in extreme pain as he left the ice and headed directly to the dressing room with 8:06 left. Ranger was chasing after a puck in the right corner of the Lightning end when he was hit from behind by Buffalo's Daniel Paille.
Ranger hurt his left arm, which jammed up against the glass, as the player was attempting to cushion himself from the check. The Lightning had no immediate update on the Ranger's injury.
Notes: Sabres G Ryan Miller appeared in his 27th straight game, and his 69th of the season, four short of setting the Sabres' single-season record shared by Don Edwards (1977-78), Domenik Hasek (1997-98) and Martin Biron (2001-02). . ... Sabres D Teppo Numminen will rejoin the team on Thursday after being cleared for practice six months after the 39-year-old had open-heart surgery. ... St. Louis' first-period goal marked his 500th career point, coming in his 599th game.
[Associated Press; By JOHN WAWROW]
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