Dave Chan / Reuters

Buffalo's Jason Pominville scores on Ottawa goaltender Ray Emery. The Sabres advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a 3-2 win on Saturday.

updated 11:48 p.m. ET May 13, 2006

OTTAWA - Other than Jason Pominville, nobody was happier or quicker to celebrate his overtime goal than Jay McKee.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh man, he’s got a chance here,’ ” said McKee, who was in the penalty box when Pominville scored a short-handed goal 2:26 into the extra period to give Buffalo a 3-2, series-ending victory over Ottawa on Saturday night.

“I saw him get around on the outside and my eyes just widened, and all of a sudden it was in and I got out of there as fast as I could,” McKee said. “I looked to my right and he was coming right for me, so I just gave him a big bear hug and we got clobbered by the rest of the guys. It was a pretty neat feeling.”

With McKee off for tripping Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson 1:44 into the extra period, Pominville burst down the left side and cut in front of goalie Ray Emery to tuck the puck past the rookie and give Buffalo its third overtime winner of the series.

“I think we were the only people who thought we could win the series,” Pominville said. “We proved we are a good team and hopefully we can keep going.”

Ryan Miller made 34 saves for Buffalo, which won the best-of-seven series 4-1 to advance to the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina-New Jersey winner.

All five games were decided by one goal in the series that featured a tie score or a one-goal lead for all but 1:40 of total play.

“It was definitely nerve-racking,” Miller said. “I think we handled it well by playing our own game.”

Sabres defenseman Henrik Tallinder scored his first career playoff goal 33 seconds in and co-captain Chris Drury added a power-play goal 7:56 into the second to put Buffalo up 2-1.

Senators defenseman Brian Pothier scored for the second game in a row on a power play at 13:59 of second to tie it at 2. Alfredsson got his second goal of the playoffs — his first of the series — on a 5-on-3 midway through the first.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

“We really believed tonight,” said Emery, who stopped 21 shots. “We were really confident coming in.”

Buffalo, which finished fourth in the East, three points behind conference top-seed Ottawa in the Northeast Division, will face either No. 2 Carolina or No. 3 New Jersey in its first conference final since 1999.

More news

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Devils get it done in Game 5

NJ blows three-goal lead, but Ryan Carter's late goal helps No. 6 seed beat NY Rangers 5-3, move within one win of Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday.

NBC Sports

Highlights: Devils defeat Rangers in Game 5

  In New York, New Jersey took Game 5 with a 5-3 win and lead the series 3-2. The Rangers fought back from an early 3 goal deficit in the first period to tie the game early in the third period, only to see the Devils score two unanswered goals to win the game.

Headlines

• Label

PHT: Torts still upbeat  |  'Best game of the series'

PHT: Elias says NJ 'stole this one' | Gionta on win

NHL.com: Unlikely contributors fueling Devils' ride

PHT: Brodeur pokes fun at Rangers fans

PHT Extra: Can Kings cap run with Cup?

Kings conquer West, await Cup finals opponent

PHT: Brown won't be penalized for Rozsival hit

PHT: Coyotes unveil plenty of conspiracy theories