OTTAWA (CBC) - No team has fared worse in the shootout than the Buffalo Sabres, but they pulled out a stunning shootout win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

Derek Roy scored the decisive goal of the shootout as the visiting Sabres rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Senators to earn a split in the home-and-home series.

Roy deked to the forehand and slid the puck between the post and outstretched right leg of Senators goaltender Martin Gerber.

"I wanted to make a stutter and stop for a little bit, and strip his gap a little," Roy said. "I just tried to make a move to my forehand and it happened to go in off his skate."

"It was a lucky break for them," Gerber said. "He made a good move.

"But it hit the post and it hit my pad and it goes in." Ottawa won 6-3 at Buffalo on Tuesday, and took five of the eight meetings between the Northeast Division rivals this season.

"It was a devastating loss the other night," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We had to be able to pick ourselves up.

"It would have been easy to watch the wind go out of the sails. I thought we deserved to win it.

"From start to finish, we did not give up a lot [and] we did a pretty good job against their top line. When we work that hard and put the work in, we get rewarded." Jason Pominville scored Buffalo's other goal in the shootout, snapping a shot under the crossbar high to Gerber's glove side.

But Jason Spezza promptly replied for Ottawa, beating Ryan Miller between the pads to tie it 1-1 before Roy clinched the win.

Buffalo has won three of 12 shootouts this season, the worst record in the NHL, but this one would not have been possible had Paul Gaustad not tied it 3-3 with 1:26 left in the third period.

"It was great to get that goal," Miller said. "It was about the time I was getting a little antsy, like, 'O.K., we better do something.'"

Maxim Afinogenov, Jochen Hecht and Paul Gaustad scored in regulation as the Sabres (36-30-11) halted a two-game losing slide.

"We deserved it," Afinogenov said. "We just worked, worked, worked, worked, worked, worked and, finally, it went in.

"We got our bounce. It is not luck - we just worked."

Fisher scores twice Mike Fisher scored twice and Spezza had the opening goal for the Senators (42-28-8), who were outshot 40-28.

Andrej Meszaros and Antoine Vermette had two assists apiece.

"It is disappointing to lose like that," Fisher said. "With a minute and a half left, we have got to bear down and be better.

"But that is a team that is fighting for their lives and playing pretty hard. Overall, we have got to be a little bit smarter and better in the defensive zone."

"Lately, if it is not one thing, it is another," Senators defenceman Chris Phillips noted. "There are a lot of things we need to be a lot better at".

With five games left, Buffalo trails the eighth-place Boston Bruins by five points for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

"It is a good feeling," Miller said. "It keeps us alive."

Ottawa improved to 92 points and vaulted over the New Jersey Devils, 3-2 losers to the New York Rangers, into fourth overall.

Both the Devils and Rangers trail the Senators by a single point, with a game in hand.

Slick solo rush

Spezza opened the scoring on a slick solo rush with both teams skating 4-on-4, bursting down the wing and beating Miller 7:35 into the first period.

It was Spezza's 33rd goal of the season.

Afinogenov tied it 1-1 in 55 seconds, corralling a loose puck in the slot and freezing Gerber with a nifty deke for his 10th.

Hecht put the Sabres ahead 2-1 with 7:15 left in the period, potting a fortuitous rebound for his 22nd.

But Vermette fed a soft pass to a streaking Fisher, who scored the tying goal on a backhand shot that beat Miller between the pads 4:17 into the second period.

Skating 4-on-4, Fisher put the Senators up 3-2 as he redirected Vermette's centring pass for his second goal on the night and career-high 23rd at 3:58 of the third period.

But Gaustad retrieved the puck behind the Senators net, circled in front and scored his 10th from a sharp angle to tie it 3-3 with 1:26 remaining in regulation.

Buffalo applied relentless pressure in overtime, but Gerber stood firm with a left pad save on Roy followed by a blocker save on the rebound.

With files from the Canadian Press

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