BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres slow start and big finish in a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night reflects how their season has gone. And that never-give-up perseverance -- combined with Ryan Millers run of splendid goaltending and rookie Marcus Folignos timely tip-in goal -- has suddenly paid off by lifting the surging Sabres into playoff contention for the first time in three months. "I think it shows the character we have in the room," captain Jason Pominville said. "The guys stuck together. And as fun as its been, I think theres still a lot of work to be done." Buffalo (37-29-10) vaulted two points ahead of the Capitals and alone into eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. With six games left, including a critical showdown at Washington on Tuesday, the Sabres arent in the playoffs yet. But they can at least rest easy for a few days in knowing how they rallied from a flat first period, in which they were being outshot 8-1 at the 6:51 mark, when Minnesotas Steven Kampfer scored. The Sabres rebounded by outshooting the Wild 36-17 the rest of the way in winning their fourth in a row and improving to 6-0-2 in their last eight and 18-5-5 in their past 28. Its a remarkable run that has Buffalo in eighth place for the first time since the morning of Dec. 20. Foligno was credited with the go-ahead goal 1:45 into the third period, when Tyler Myers point shot deflected in off the forwards shin in front. And Miller stone-walled the Wild, making 24 saves to improve to 13-1-3 in his past 17, a stretch in which hes allowed just 31 goals. "Weve got an opportunity to take a breather," coach Lindy Ruff said, noting his team just finished a stretch of playing five games in eight days. "I just told them, Get your minds off hockey and get some rest." Cody Hodgson and Thomas Vanek, who snapped a seven-game scoring drought, had a goal and assist each for Buffalo. The Wild (31-33-10) continue to tumble out of playoff contention in dropping to 3-8-1 in their past 12. Theyre in the midst of an 11-26-7 slide since owning the NHLs best record on Dec. 10. Whats worse for the Wild is that their dreadful run of injuries continued. Initial tests showed that centre Matt Cullen broke a finger on his right hand after being struck by a shot midway through the third period. "Im so sick of talking about injuries to be honest with you, its ridiculous," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "Weve still got to play hockey games. It stinks to lose Matt Cullen. It stinks we have guys out of the lineup, but weve got a job to do. Lets make sure we do it." The Wild began their two-game road swing travelling with an NHL-minimum 20-player roster after defenceman Jared Spurgeon sustained a concussion in a 3-2 shootout win over Calgary on Thursday. Theyve also played long stretches minus captain Mikko Koivu, who played his second game, after missing 15 with an upper body injury. And starting goalie Niklas Backstrom missed his 10th game with a lower body injury. Wild backup goalie Josh Harding was sharp in stopping 34 shots to keep the score close. Harding had no chance on either goal he allowed, and Hodgson sealed the victory by scoring into an empty net with 1 second remaining. After Vanek tied it during a scramble in front 72 seconds into the second period, Foligno used his big-body presence in front to score the go-ahead goal on the power play, less than a minute after Darroll Powe was penalized for holding. The Sabres worked the puck around to Myers at the right point, from where he blasted a shot in off Foligno. Folignos goal continued a hot stretch for the son of former Sabres captain Mike Foligno. The 20-year-old forward now has six goals and 10 points in eight games since being called up from AHL Rochester. Ruff wasnt surprised by his teams flat start, considering the Sabres were playing on back-to-back nights after a 4-1 win at the New York Rangers, while the Wild arrived in Buffalo on Friday. "I wasnt surprised that they had better legs early on, but I thought we dug in," Ruff said. "We came out at the start of the second and started to make a difference." Millers best save came 13 minutes into the second period when teammate Christian Ehrhoff carelessly carried the puck through his own crease, only to have Minnesotas Mikko Koivu cut him off in front. Koivu got his stick on the puck and directed it toward the net, only to have Miller punch it aside with his glove. Notes: Wild C Kyle Brodziak had an assist to extend his point streak to four games, in which he has two goals and five assists. ... With Backstrom not on the trip, the Wild recalled G Matt Hackett from AHL Houston. ... The Sabres last regulation loss at home was a 4-1 defeat to New Jersey on Feb. 14. cheap jerseys . 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MILAN, Italy -- Lazio beat Siena 4-1 on penalties to advance to the Italian Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday. Siena appeared to be heading for the next round, in new coach Giuseppe Iachinis first match in charge, after a comedy own goal 10 minutes into the second half. Lazio goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo did well to deny Francesco Valiani but defender Michael Cianis attempted clearance then crashed off teammate Lorik Cana and into the net. However, Ciani atoned for hiss error by heading in an equalizer in the fifth minute of stoppage time.dddddddddddd Siena missed several chances in extra time before Simone Vergassola and Marcelo Larrondo had their spot kicks saved in the shootout. Lazio will next face Catania, which beat Parma on penalties last week. Fiorentina will face Roma after a 1-0 win over Udinese. Borja Valero capitalized on an error from Dusan Basta to score the only goal of the game in the 36th minute. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '