"Our effort was there," said coach Claude Julien. "Our will and determination were there. But it almost feels like Groundhog Day here."
For the second straight night and third time this season, the Bruins lost in a shootout, with three Eastern rivals (Montreal, Pittsburgh, and now Buffalo) gaining the extra point.
"We can go on and on about having lots of scoring chances and creating a lot," said Dennis Wideman, who scored the game's opening goal. "But we have to find a way to win. We can't keep losing in the shootout and giving divisional teams extra points. We have to find a way to win."
In the shootout, Drew Stafford struck first, tapping a backhander past Manny Fernandez. David Krejci, Boston's third shooter, kept the shootout going by powering a wrister through Miller.
But Thomas Vanek, the NHL's reigning Player of the Week, made a skilled maneuver to score the deciding goal. Vanek, going full speed at Fernandez, faked a forehand, pulling his stick in front of the puck. Fernandez bit slightly on the move, allowing Vanek to reposition his stick and flick a wrister into the net.
At the other end, Miller turned aside Marc Savard, Boston's final shooter.
Earlier in the shootout, Miller stopped Phil Kessel and Patrice Bergeron. Julien tapped Zdeno Chara for the first time this season, but Chara, Boston's fourth shooter, never got his boomer unleashed, as the puck dribbled off the heel of his stick.
"He's got good hands," said Fernandez (28 saves) of Vanek. "I was a little deep on that one, expecting a deke. I think I'd rather go out there, have my head free, and not think, 'OK, this guy likes this move and this guy likes that move.'
"Regardless, I think everybody adjusts in this league. Everybody's good enough to pull something out of their hat."
At one point, the Bruins had their skates on the Sabres' throats. After the first period, Boston held a 16-6 shot advantage. In the second, after Stafford was called for goaltender interference, the Bruins converted on the power play to make it 2-0.
Milan Lucic fed the puck to a streaking Kessel, who faced a retreating Buffalo defense in the slot. Kessel reared back and whipped a quick-release wrister over Miller at 11:48 for his sixth goal.
