Sabres

■ When, where: Thursday, 7 p.m, at TD Garden. ■TV, radio: NESN, WBZ-FM (98.5). ■Goals: Jason Pominville 24, Thomas Vanek 23, Derek Roy 14. ■Assists: Pominville 37, Vanek 26, Christian Ehrhoff 24. ■Goaltending: Ryan Miller (23-18-5, 2.58 GAA), Jhonas Enroth (8-10-3, 2.68). ■Head to head: This is the fifth of six meetings. The Bruins won the first two, the Sabres the last two. ■Miscellany: Buffalo has not lost in regulation when leading after two periods . . . The Sabres are last in the league in goals on the road (61)

Buffalo 0 1 2 0—3 Boston 0 1 2 0—4 Boston won shootout 1-0 First Period—None. Penalties—Regehr, Buf, major (fighting), 12:38 Thornton, Bos, major (fighting), 12:38 Weber, Buf (high-sticking), 14:02 Stafford, Buf (tripping), 17:48. Second Period—1, Boston, Seguin 28 (Bergeron), 3:15. 2, Buffalo, Boyes 7 (McNabb, Vanek), 15:45. Penalties—Weber, Buf (interference), 10:27 Chara, Bos (tripping), 19:16. Third Period—3, Buffalo, Boyes 8 (Roy, Vanek), 7:02. 4, Buffalo, Pominville 30 (Gerbe, McNabb)

Sabres defenseman James Patrick retired yesterday to end a 21-year NHL career and accepted an assistant coaching position with the team. Patrick, 42, contemplated playing for one more season, but made the decision to retire when the Sabres offered him a job as a developmental instructor -- a position the team created specifically for him. "When I analyze it, I never would've dreamed of playing as long as I have and I'm excited about taking this next step," Patrick said.

■When, where: Saturday, 4 p.m., at TD Garden. ■TV, radio: NESN, WBZ-FM (98.5). ■Goals: Jason Pominville 29, Thomas Vanek 26, Drew Stafford 20. ■Assists: Pominville 43, Vanek 33, Stafford 30. ■Goaltending: Ryan Miller (31-21-7, 2.55 GAA), Jhonas Enroth (8-11-3, 2.70). ■Head to head: This is the last of six meetings. Boston leads the series, 3-2, and has won both games played at TD Garden. ■Miscellany: Thursday's 2-1 loss to Philadelphia eliminated the Sabres from playoff contention … The Sabres have allowed an average of 31.2 shots per game, the fifth highest mark in the...

Maybe now R.J. Umberger won't see himself flat on the ice every time he turns on the television. Umberger scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, helping the Flyers even their first-round playoff series against Buffalo with a 5-4 victory last night in Philadelphia. Peter Forsberg had two goals and a sensational assist, and Petr Nedved and Eric Desjardins also scored for the Flyers, who won their second straight game after a humiliating six-goal loss Monday.

Good afternoon from TD Garden, where the Bruins will put a wrap on the 2011-12 regular season against the Sabres. The varsity lineup should hit the ice. Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara, and Patrice Bergeron were given breathers against Ottawa on Thursday. The Bruins are locked into second place. They are awaiting the Ottawa, Washington, and Florida results. If the Senators claim one point, they will take seventh place to set up the first-round showdown. Puck drop : 4 p.m. TV/radio info : NESN (Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley, Naoko Funayama)

While the Bruins went through their final regular-season practice on TD Garden ice Friday, two of their toughest defensemen remained on the sideline with injuries. Most of the team is healthy, but neither Johnny Boychuk nor Adam McQuaid skated with the team and the configuration of the defense is the top question as the playoffs approach. Boychuk is recovering from a left knee sprain suffered Tuesday. McQuaid, while playing in his first game after missing three with a cut over his left eye, left Thursday's game in Ottawa after playing just seven minutes because he wasn't feeling well.

SHOOTOUT Bruins take it, 4-3. Bergeron connects for only shootout goal among six shooters. Bruins end season with 49-29-4 record, 102 points. Playoff opponent still unknown. Pominville-- No goal. Forehand cut down by Thomas. Bergeron -- Goal. Forehand through Enroth 5-hole. Boyes -- no goal Seguin -- no goal. Ennis - no goal. Krejci - no goal OVERTIME Bruins can't score with 5-0 shot advantage. Now on to shootout.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves to tie the Peguins franchise record for career wins and host Pittsburgh clinched home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers Thursday night. Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang each had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, which will be the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference for the fourth consecutive season. The Penguins will play the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov scored for the Rangers, who were playing for...

Buffalo center Tyler Ennis sat dejected, staring down at a half-full equipment bag. Slowly, he picked himself up, leaned forward and began to untape. Asked for his thoughts on the Sabres' elimination from postseason contention, Ennis stared straight ahead, tousled his sweat-soaked hair, and solemnly said: "Not right now. " Not now. Not in the postseason, either. With their faint playoff hopes riding at least on wins in their final two games, the Sabres failed to finish a longshot rally that brought them to the brink of the postseason.

By Barbara Matson, Globe Correspondent While the Bruins went through their final regular-season practice on TD Garden ice, two of their toughest defensemen remained on the sideline with injuries. While most of the team is healthy and playing at a high level, neither Johnny Boychuk nor Adam McQuaid skated with the team at practice. Boychuk is recovering from a left knee sprain suffered Tuesday. McQuaid, playing in his first game after missing three with a cut over his left eye, left Thursday's game with Ottawa because he wasn't feeling well.