Zdeno Chara and Michael Ryder notched two goals each to lead the Boston Bruins to a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon at HSBC Arena, evening the Eastern Conference quarter-final series at 1-1.

Rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for his first career post-season victory.

Tyler Myers, Matt Ellis and Jason Pominville scored for Buffalo in a losing effort.

Before the game, Buffalo held a 31-0 record this year when leading to start the third period, but that unblemished record was broken when the Bruins scored twice.

"It's disappointing we went into the third with a lead and didn't make it hold up," said Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, who made 26 stops.

"Everything is not going to go our way."

For a team that had trouble scoring — 29th overall during the regular season — Boston went on an offensive charge Saturday, and it was their captain, Chara, who sparked it.

The Bruins capitalized on several Buffalo mistakes and a pedestrian third period by the Sabres for the gutsy road win.

"It's definitely good to get two goals in the third period and bounce back from a deficit," said Rask. "I think everybody realized now that it's playoffs and we can't let down. Today we did a great job of that."

But it was Buffalo who got on the board first. With Boston pinned deep in its end, the Sabres worked the cycle game, finding a waiting Myers at the point.

The defenceman fired a shot that pinballed off a Boston defender and past Rask, giving the Sabres an early 1-0 lead.

Boston didn't help its cause midway through the period. Vladimir Sobotka got tied up with a Sabres defenceman and went crashing into Miller. As a result, the Bruins forward was whistled for goaltender interference.

Buffalo had a glorious chance to start the power play. Forward Derek Roy broke into the offensive zone on a two-on-one, sent a pass to Thomas Vanek, took the return feed and fired the puck on net, but Rask made a solid stop, keeping the score at 1-0.

It didn't take long for the Sabres to find the scoresheet for a second time. Ellis took a pass, went streaking down the right-hand boards, and fired a bad angle backhander that fooled Rask on the far post.

Not long after the Ellis marker, Vanek and Roy were at it again. During a second two-on-one break, the Sabres goal-scoring leader was slashed by Johnny Boychuk, lost his balance, and crashed into the end boards. Vanek was slow to get up, and limped off to the locker room while favouring his leg. He did not return.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff wouldn't reveal the severity of the injury or whether Vanek would play Monday. Ruff would only say that he expects Vanek to travel to Boston with the team.

Vanek missed a number of games in early April with a lower-body injury, but had scored six goals in his first three games since his return, including the first goal of the series on Thursday.

The Bruins managed 12 shots on Miller in the first period, but had trouble breaking into the slot, constantly settling for shots along the perimeter.

2nd period charge

Boston opened the second strong.

After a wave of early pressure, Ryder scored his first of the playoffs at 2:35. With the Bruins controlling the puck deep in the Sabres' zone, Blake Wheeler found Ryder, who fired a shot that bounced high in the air and fell behind Miller, cutting the lead to 2-1.

The Bruins evened the score at 9:54.

Veteran Mark Recchi sent a hard point shot on net. The rebound bounced directly to a pinching Chara, the team's captain, who slapped the puck into the back of the net.

Buffalo grabbed the lead for a second time late in the frame.

After Milan Lucic fanned on a pass in the defensive zone, Tyler Ennis collected the giveaway and chipped a pass to Pominville who beat Rask in the top corner, re-igniting the crowd at HSBC Arena.

When the horn sounded to end the second period, the Bruins and Sabres were tied at 23 shots with Buffalo leading 3-2.

Ryder scored his second at 5:23 of the third. The Bruins winger flashed down the left boards, took a feed from Andrew Ference, and slid the puck along the ice and past Miller.

"It's definitely a big boost," Ryder said. "We've had struggles all year scoring goals. It's a good time for us to start finding the back of the net."

Exactly two minutes later, Chara notched his second of the game. The defenceman fired a shot that redirected in front, beating Miller and giving the Bruins their first lead of the series.

The big defenceman credited teammate David Krejci, who screened the Buffalo netminder.

"It was a great job," Chara said. "It wasn't a hard shot, but it was a shot that he couldn't see. He can't see it, he can't stop it."

Recchi added an empty-net goal late in the third.