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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Dominik Hasek's one mistake was more than the
Buffalo Sabres could afford against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Alexei Kovalev scored late in the third period Wednesday night
to give the Penguins a 1-1 tie, keeping the Sabres winless in
Pittsburgh for nearly four years.
|  | | Penguins goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin makes one of his 35 saves. |
The Sabres, in a scramble at the bottom of the Eastern
Conference playoff field, needed to get two points and deny the
Penguins at the same time. The Penguins hold a four-point advantage
over Buffalo.
"It was a great shot by Kovalev," Hasek said. "It went off
the crossbar and went in."
Hasek remained undefeated in five games (2-0-3) since he
returned Feb. 1 from a groin injury that caused him to miss 40
games.
Buffalo is 0-7-3 at Pittsburgh since winning on March 23, 1996.
In their last 20 visits, the Sabres are 1-15-4. Hasek is 1-6-2 in his last nine road games against the Penguins.
Kovalev, who scored after Robert Lang won a faceoff, grabbed the loose puck and whipped a quick shot past Hasek's left
shoulder at 14:37 for his second goal in the last 18 games.
The Penguins thought they had scored at 5:36 of the third when Jaromir Jagr shot the puck toward the net and it deflected off
Hasek and creeped toward the goal line. The goal judge didn't
signal a goal and replays were inconclusive. Hasek's water bottle
atop the net blocked the view on the overhead camera.
"We're at home, why doesn't the goal judge just throw the red
light on and let everybody argue?" Pittsburgh coach Herb Brooks
said. "That's the old-time hockey. Just throw it on and argue.
(Penguins forward Jan) Hrdina said it was in. That's all I know."
Buffalo registered the only shot in a cautiously played overtime.
Geoff Sanderson scored on a power play at 19:38 of the second
period. Brian Holzinger was able to pass the puck just before he
was knocked down by Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis.
Sanderson took the pass, skated down right wing and put in a shot
off Jean-Sebastien Aubin's glove.
Aubin had not allowed a goal in eight consecutive periods on
home ice.
The Sabres held a 36-29 edge in shots. Aubin was coming off a
shutout of Vancouver in which he stopped 37 attempts.
"I like that," Aubin said. "It keeps you in the game. You get
a good clear focus. It doesn't bother me."
Said Ruff, "We could have run away with the game and Aubin made
six or seven really good saves to keep it 0-0. Then the one that
got through probably wasn't the best one."
Hasek, who has allowed six goals since returning, was beaten on
Pittsburgh's 27th shot.
The Penguins had a four-minute power play early in the first
when Rob Ray was sent off for roughing Dennis Bonvie. Pittsburgh
generated just three shots during the double minor.
Jagr, the NHL's leading scorer, has not scored in six of his
last seven games against Hasek, the Pittsburgh star's teammate on
the gold-medal winning Czech Republic team in the 1998 Olympics.
Jagr appeared to hurt his leg midway through the overtime when
he was clipped by Michael Peca's knee as they skated through the
neutral zone. Jagr did not leave the bench again.
The Penguins offered no report on his condition and Jagr was not
available after the game.
"Scary thing," Brooks said. "(Peca) led with his knee."
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Buffalo Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Brooks' miracle lives on, 20 years later
 Morganti: Pens owner has leverage
RECAPS
Montreal 5
Atlanta 1
Detroit 5
Vancouver 2
Florida 3
NY Rangers 0
Buffalo 1
Pittsburgh 1
Boston 3
Toronto 3
Los Angeles 4
Chicago 1
Dallas 3
Nashville 0
Anaheim 6
Calgary 5
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