Sabres, Hurricanes take 3-0 series leads

Maybe it's time to stop referring to them as the "No-name" Buffalo Sabres.

J.P. Dumont's floater from the right circle 5:05 into overtime gave Buffalo a 3-2 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night and a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

So much for a Sabres team that was counted out since the start of the season for being too young and lacking marquee talent. Buffalo, making its first postseason appearance since 2001, is one win from eliminating the top-seeded Senators.

"Since Day 1, no one thought we were going to make the playoffs," Dumont said. "We knew we had a lot of talent and character to do better than that. And we've showed it and proved it to everybody. ... We don't care what people think of us."

Added co-captain Daniel Briere: "I hope people keep not paying attention to us, that's fine by us."

Chris Drury and Maxim Afinogenov also scored, and rookie Ryan Miller stopped 26 shots for the Sabres. Buffalo has won five straight, is 4-0 at home and defeated the Senators for the ninth straight time in the playoffs, dating to a 1997 first-round series.

Dumont sealed the victory in a game in which the Sabres twice squandered one-goal leads, including giving up Jason Spezza's goal that forced overtime with 90 seconds left in regulation.

The Senators are on the verge of extending its dreadful history of playoff collapses. Despite registering 100-plus points for the fifth time in seven seasons, the Senators have only once advanced to the conference finals -- in 2003, when they lost to New Jersey.

This is a team that's never overcome a two-game deficit never mind 3-0, and has little time to regroup with Game 4 of the series at Buffalo tonight.

Said Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson: "It's frustrating. But as long as there's hope, we're not going to quit."

The Sabres won despite missing two top regulars -- center Tim Connolly and defenseman Dmitri Kalinin, both hurt in Buffalo's 2-1 win in Game 2 on Monday.

Brind'Amour lifts Carolina

The Carolina Hurricanes didn't care how many players their winning shot hit on the way to the net. All that mattered was it put them one victory away from another trip to the Eastern Conference finals.

Rod Brind'Amour was credited with the decisive power-play goal that produced Carolina's 3-2 victory Wednesday night and gave the Hurricanes a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven, second-round series.

Eric Staal shot it, New Jersey's Sergei Brylin got a piece of it, and Brind'Amour steered it on a bouncy path between Martin Brodeur's legs late in the second period to snap a 2-2 tie.

"I wasn't trying to do anything special, just change direction and hopefully it goes in," Brind'Amour said. "That's pretty much what happened."

And that's just what has been happening for the Hurricanes in this series that could be over Saturday in New Jersey.

They have scored goals on tips, bank shots, even with redirections by skates -- theirs and the Devils' -- to move within one win of the conference finals for the second time in four seasons.

"This is a team that never looks too far ahead or too far behind," Brind'Amour said. "We're always looking at the next game and we know we're not done with this job."

Matt Cullen added another man-advantage goal, and Justin Williams also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won seven straight since dropping the opening two games in the first round to Montreal.

"It was a big win but we know the series isn't over," forward Mark Recchi said. "We're happy but guys were pretty subdued knowing we've still got work ahead."

-- The Associated Press