ATLANTA, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Patrik Stefan scored on the power play with 66 seconds left in overtime Monday as the Atlanta Thrashers overcame the loss of their starting goaltender and edged the Buffalo Sabres, 4-3, in a battle of the NHL's worst teams.
With Buffalo defenseman Alexei Zhitnik in the penalty box for interference, Marc Savard threw a pass from low in the right faceoff circle across the crease to Stefan, who tapped the puck past sliding goallie Martin Biron for his career-high 12th goal.
Frederic Cassivi made 24 saves in place of Byron Dafoe, who strained his left groin during warmups. Bothered by groin injuries all season, Dafoe had to be helped from the ice and will be re-evaluated Tuesday.
Cassivi was recalled from the minors Sunday after Pasi Nurminen strained his left groin in Saturday's 6-2 loss to Detroit. Nurminen is expected to miss two weeks.
Rookie Dan Snyder, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Dany Heatley also scored for Atlanta, which snapped a four-game winless streak and completed a 1-2-1 homestand.
Curtis Brown scored his second shorthanded goal in as many games to lift Buffalo into a 3-3 tie with 4:19 left in regulation. But the Sabres failed in a bid for consecutive wins for the first time since Jan. 10-14.
J.P. Dumont and Tim Connolly had the other goals for Buffalo, which ended an eight-game winless streak Saturday with a 5-4 victory over the New York Rangers.
