WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Dominator isn't done yet.
He needed luck, versatility and every inch of his body. He stopped Peter Bondra on a third-period breakaway a minute after he was shaken up. He even gave up a one-goal lead, but the goalie who labeled himself "Swiss cheese" after losing three straight games turned into a block of cheddar and kept the Buffalo Sabres alive in the playoffs Tuesday night.
Dominik Hasek made 34 saves, survived numerous deflections, a disallowed goal and another that was not allowed after a video review as the the Sabres beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 to close the best-of-7 Eastern Conference finals to 3-2 and force a Game 6 Thursday night in Buffalo.
Buffalo is attempting to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win a conference finals.
The Sabres were outshot 35-16 as the Capitals controlled the game with vicious forechecking, but Buffalo's shot No. 14 _ a superb individual effort by former Caps defenseman Jason Woolley _ found the net with 4:26 remaining. It was only the second third-period goal the Sabres have scored all series.
With the Capitals on a line change, Woolley started at his own blue line and skated untouched between the Washington defenseman and put the puck between goaltender Olaf Kolzig's legs. The shot silenced the MCI Center's boisterous sellout crowd, which was hoping to witness the biggest victory in the history of the Capitals franchise.
But the game belonged to Hasek, who put the words "Swiss cheese" on his shirt after allowing a soft goal in Saturday's 2-0 loss in Game 4. Among his heroic moments Tuesday: He pinned the puck against the right post to stop Adam Oates with 10:49 to play _ a no-goal verified by the replay official _ and snatched Richard Zednik's attempt out of mid-air with 7:55 left.
Then there was Bondra, who had a chance to give the Caps the lead with 12:30 to play on his second short-handed breakaway of the night, but he keep the puck low _ where Hasek is at his best _ and the goalie stopped the shot with his right pad.
The save came shortly after Hasek was knocked to the ice in a collision with Brian Bellows. Hasek lay on the ice for about a minute before play resumed.
The Sabres played 6:30 before taking their first shot of the game, but they scored on their second one just three seconds later on defenseman Darryl Shannon's slapshot from beyond the right circle. Kolzig, screened on the play, barely moved a muscle as the puck went between his legs.
It was Shannon's second goal of the playoffs, one less than he had during the regular season.
Oates appeared to get the Caps on the board two minutes later when he doggedly stuffed the puck over Hasek's leg on a wraparound, but referee Terry Gregson's whistle had blown the play dead.
The tying goal that counted came at the 16:29 mark on Andrei Nikolishin's first career playoff score, a close-range one-timer on a power play. All four Buffalo penalty-killers were caught on the same side of the ice, leaving Nikolishin alone as he received an apparently deflected pass from Zednik.
The Capitals, who took only one shot in the first 11 minutes, then began to lay siege at Hasek's net. Bondra drew a penalty when he was dragged down on a breakaway late in the first period, and Washington outshot Buffalo 13-2 in the second period.
Late in the second, the Capitals had Hasek sprawled on the ice on a 3-on-2 break and still failed to score. All the Caps had to do was lift the puck four inches over Hasek's outstretched right arm, but Oates and Joe Juneau both failed, putting the puck right back onto the goalie's blocker.
