Sep 30, 2006 2 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Adam Mair scored his first goal of the preseason at 2:53 of overtime to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night. Mair got a loose puck and drove to the net around Kristopher Letang in the left circle, sneaking a shot past goaltender Jocelyn Thibault on the short side just before taking a big hit from Noah Welch.

Maxim Afinogenov tied the game 3-3 with 5:52 to play on the Sabres’ second short-handed goal of the game, skating around Ryan Whitney between the circles and then avoiding a sliding Brooks Orpik to score his first goal of the preseason.

Colby Armstrong scored his second goal of the game with 8:34 to play to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead, taking a cross-ice pass from Whitney to beat goaltender Martin Biron from the left circle. Linemate Sidney Crosby picked up his second assist of the game on the play and has nine points in four games.

Teppo Numminen’s short-handed goal 30 seconds into the third period forged a 2-2 tie.

The Penguins built a 2-1 lead after two periods. Armstrong’s goal at 7:27 of the first period made it 1-0, and after Daniel Briere tied it on a power-play goal at 14:04 of the second, John LeClair put Pittsburgh ahead by skating down the right wing and beating Biron with a forehand shot.

The Penguins (2-1-3) and Sabres (4-1-0) meet Saturday night in Buffalo.