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First Posted: 4/7/2012 (AP) Patrice Bergeron had three assists in regulation and the game-winner in the shootout on Saturday to lead the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins into the postseason with a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres had already been eliminated from the playoff race.
Tyler Seguin scored twice, and Brad Marchand also had a goal for the Bruins, who had already clinched the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. They will open the playoffs next week against either Ottawa or Washington.
Brad Boyes scored twice for the Sabres, who finished with 88 points two behind the Capitals, who had one game to play.
Tim Thomas stopped 25 shots for the Bruins.
Jhonas Enroth made 37 saves for Buffalo.
It was a game that had the potential for great importance even this week, when Buffalo was chasing Washington for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. But the Sabres lost to the Flyers on Thursday night to lose their chance to pass the Capitals, and Saturday's game became a meaningless tuneup for both teams.
It was scoreless after one period and 1-1 after two when Boyes and Jason Pominville scored less than two minutes apart to give Buffalo a 3-1 lead with 11:14 to play. Seguin cut the deficit to one goal just 70 seconds later, then Marchand tied it with about 8 minutes left, giving rise to a "We want the Cup!" chant from the Boston fans.
The Bruins outshot the Sabres 5-0 in overtime but couldn't score.
The first four skaters missed in the shootout before Bergeron put it between Enroth's legs. Thomas stopped Pominville to end it.
Notes: Seguin finished with 67 points and was the youngest player at 20 years, 2 months and 7 days to lead the Original Six team in scoring. Bergeron was 20 years, 8 months, 22 days when he led the Bruins in 2005-06.... The Bruins announced their 125th consecutive sellout, including playoffs. They have sold out every game of each of the past two seasons. ... The Bruins regular season awards were announced before the game: Zdeno Chara was the recipient of the Eddie Shore Award for exceptional hustle and determination. Brad Marchand earned both the Elizabeth Dufresne Trophy for outstanding performance during home games and the John P. Bucyk Award for greatest off-ice charitable contributions. Tim Thomas, Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic were named the Bruins Three Stars.
<a title="Associated Press" href="http://www.ap.org" class="url org fn">Associated Press</a>

Bergeron leads Bruins to 4-3 win over Buffalo