Kotalik scores winning goal 40.9 seconds left in OT

OTTAWA (AP) -- Two of the Buffalo Sabres' top prospects are helping to brighten up one of the team's bleakest seasons.

Ales Kotalik scored his second goal of the game with 40.9 seconds left in overtime to give Buffalo a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night in a matchup of the NHL's two most financially troubled franchises.

Kotalik, who opened the scoring 48 seconds into the game, took Stu Barnes' two-on-one pass and scored his eighth goal of the season into an open left side.

"I'm just happy to be here and play in the NHL,'' said Kotalik, who has 13 points in 29 games since being recalled from the minors on Oct. 27. "This is what I was dreaming about and I'm happy to get a chance. I hope that the people recognize that I can play a serious role in this league.''

Rookie goalie Ryan Miller got his fifth start -- his third straight -- for the Sabres and made 31 saves.

"Every game's a learning experience for me,'' said Miller, who won the Hobey Baker Award in 2001 during his second of three stellar seasons with Michigan State. "I'm just trying to build some confidence and build my game here at the NHL level and prove I can do it here on a consistent basis, and this kind of a game helps.''

Shaun Van Allen scored midway through the second period for Ottawa, which lost for the first time in four games against the woeful Sabres this season.

"I think they're a better team than the record shows,'' Senators defenseman Zdeno Chara said. "We didn't take them easy. We're not too happy about it but at least we got one point.''

Buffalo, which beat Carolina 6-3 on Friday night to end a seven-game losing streak, has just 27 points in 39 games.

"You never say never,'' Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We'd have to rattle off quite a streak to get back in the picture, but we've won two in a row now and we can keep putting them together if we get goaltending like that night after night.''

Ottawa, which leads the league with 54 points, played its second game since a complex refinancing deal fell through Tuesday, causing the team to miss its player payroll the following day.

Senators owner Rod Bryden met with commissioner Gary Bettman and representatives of the team's creditors in New York on Friday.

The league, which is operating the Sabres this season and looking for a buyer for the franchise, said it expected Ottawa would have financing in place by next week to make the club "current on its obligations.''

"If we could control it, we'd worry about it, but since we can't control it, we don't worry about it,'' Van Allen said. "We just go out and play hockey. It's a tough game. You've got to be focused every night and when you've got something else on your mind, you're not going to play very well.''

Kotalik gave Buffalo the lead in the first minute when he scored on a one-timer past goalie Patrick Lalime.

The Senators held a 33-21 advantage in shots, outshooting the Sabres 16-3 in the second.

Ottawa's Marian Hossa, coming off a five-point game Thursday night against Atlanta, worked his way through the Sabres end before setting up Van Allen, who beat Miller from the slot for the tying goal with 7:59 left in the period.

Chara missed a great scoring chance 3:14 into overtime when he backhanded a shot through the crease.

"It's always a relief when it rolls outside those two steel posts instead of inside them,'' Ruff said. "We've seen enough of that.''

Game notes
Buffalo went 4-1-0 against Ottawa last season. ... Senators goalie Ray Emery was in uniform for the first time in an NHL game. He backed up Lalime. Emery was recalled from Binghamton of the AHL on Friday after rookie Martin Prusek left Thursday's 8-1 win over Atlanta because of a groin injury. Prusek is expected to be sidelined seven-to-10 days. ... Ottawa C Mike Fisher missed the game because of a bruised right knee resulting from a knee-on-knee collision Thursday.