PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Konstantin Koltsov's goal late in the second

period helped the Pittsburgh Penguins rally for a 2-2 tie with

Buffalo on Saturday night, damaging the Sabres' slim playoff hopes.

Koltsov converted Tom Kostopoulos' pass at 15:28 of the second

period for his ninth goal of the season as Pittsburgh overcame a

2-0 deficit to extend its home unbeaten streak to seven (5-0-2).

Chris Drury and J.P. Dumont scored for the Sabres, who are five

points behind the New York Islanders for the final playoff spot in

the Eastern Conference. Both Buffalo and the Islanders, who lost to

Carolina on Saturday, have four games remaining.

Buffalo, 7-2-1-3 in its last 13 games, almost won when Mike

Grier deked goaltender Sebastien Caron and fired a shot off the

right post with 1:55 left in regulation.

Martin Biron made 37 saves for the Sabres, including five in

overtime when the Penguins enjoyed a power play.

Drury's 18th goal gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 13:53 of the

first period when he beat Caron with a wrist shot from the left

circle. It marked the first time since mid-February that Drury

scored in consecutive games.

Dumont made it 2-0 at 17:36 on the power play, scoring his 21st

goal from the bottom of the left circle off Drury's pass from

behind the net. Dumont has five goals in nine games.

The Penguins cut the lead in half at 7:22 of the second period

on the power play when Rico Fata shrugged off a check from Dmitri

Kalinin in front of the net to convert Milan Kraft's pass for his

16th goal. It was the 13th consecutive game in which Pittsburgh

scored a power-play goal.Game notes
Pittsburgh G Jean-Sebastien Aubin, who had won four

consecutive games, was cut by a shot that broke his mask during the

pregame warmup, forcing Caron into the start. ... The Sabres

scratched Eric Boulton and Brian Campbell. ... Dumont's goal was

the 100th in the NHL. ... Landon Wilson, who recovered from a

serious eye injury sustained last season, is the Penguins' nominee

for the Masterton Trophy, given annually to the NHL player who

exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.