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NHL

No-goal call aids Sabres this time

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Sabres heard "No goal!" four years too late.

Curtis Brown scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and Dallas had an apparent late goal waved off as the Sabres beat the Stars 5-3 Friday night.

"I walked down the bench and that's exactly what I said to (Buffalo assistant) Scott Arniel," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "All of a sudden, they got video review in the building."

Buffalo lost the 1999 Stanley Cup to Dallas on Brett Hull's disputed goal in the third overtime of Game 6. Hull appeared to violate the man-in-the-crease rule, but after watching the video replay, officials allowed the goal.

The Sabres got a break this time when replays showed Claude Lemieux tipped in the potential tying goal with a high stick with 3:18 left.

Ales Kotalik, Jason Botterill and Stu Barnes each had a goal and an assist, Brian Campbell scored a goal and Miroslav Satan had three assists for Buffalo, which is 2-1-1 in its past four games.

Buffalo recalled Botterill, who leads the AHL with 36 goals, from Rochester earlier in the day. He played one game earlier in the season for Buffalo and has three goals and eight points in 54 career NHL games.

"He got himself in that area they said he's been best at -- right on top of the crease. I thought he deserved to be out there," Ruff said of Botterill.

Philippe Boucher, Jere Lehtinen and Derian Hatcher scored for Dallas, which finished its road trip 1-1-1-1.

Martin Biron, making his fourth straight start and 44th appearance of the year for the Sabres, stopped 31 shots, including 15 in the first period.

The Stars played without forward Bill Guerin, who bruised a thigh in Thursday night's game. He is day-to-day and will be evaluated today.

Along with Botterill, Buffalo also recalled defenseman Radoslav Hecl from Rochester and put forward Denis Hamel on waivers.

COYOTES 3, MIGHTY DUCKS 1: Brad May and Brian Savage, both sidelined much of the season with injuries, each scored goals, and Sean Burke made 32 saves as host Phoenix tied Los Angeles for 10th in the Western Conference, five points behind eighth-place Edmonton. Phoenix is 6-1-1 in its recent run; the Ducks had been 2-0-1 against the Coyotes this season.

CANADIENS: Goaltender Mathieu Garon signed a two-year contract. He will earn $1-million next season and $1.1-million in 2004-05. The 25-year-old went 2-2 with a 1.98 goals-against average in February. Montreal also assigned winger Mariusz Czerkawski and defenseman Francois Beauchemin to Hamilton of the AHL. ... Doug Gilmour thinks there's a "good possibility" he will retire after this year, but he won't decide until the season ends. The 20-year veteran will turn 40 in June. He has an option to return for a third season with the Canadiens.

KINGS: Los Angeles placed right wing Steve Heinze on injured reserve a day after he sustained a concussion in a 3-1 loss at Columbus. Heinze has five goals, seven assists and 12 penalty minutes in 27 games after beginning the season with the AHL's Manchester Monarchs. The team also recalled left wings Derek Bekar and Ryan Flinn from Manchester.

SENATORS: Canadian billionaire Eugene Melnyk wants to buy the team, and quickly. He reconfirmed his interest in the near-bankrupt club after Rob Bryden's bid to repurchase the team collapsed when his main investor pulled out. Melnyk said he has advisers prepared to assess the financial and operating information of the organization provided by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the Senators' court-appointed monitor under its bankruptcy protection agreement.

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