PHILADELPHIA--Donald Audette's third-period goal, which came after Buffalo squandered a two-goal lead, gave the Sabres a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in the first game of their NHL playoff series last night.

Audette slapped in a rebound from the side of the net with 8:17 left to play.

Star goalie Dominik Hasek made 22 saves overall but had one rough spot when the Flyers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game with goals 19 seconds apart earlier in the period.

Michal Grosek and Wayne Primeau also scored for Buffalo, while Rod Brind' Amour and Chris Gratton got Philadelphia's goals.

Game 2 is Friday night in Philadelphia.

Audette got the winner after Flyers goalie Sean Burke flopped to stop a shot from the point. The rebound trickled to the side of the net, and Audette lifted the puck over the fallen goalie from a tough angle.

Hasek stopped the first 20 shots before the Flyers beat him on their next two shots to tie the game. But Philadelphia managed only six shots for the period.

Oilers 3, Avalanche 2

DENVER--Bill Guerin, Dean McAmmond and Boris Mironov scored in a span of 3:49 late in the game, rallying the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over Colorado in the opening game last night of their first-round playoff series.

The seventh-seeded Oilers overcame a 2-0 deficit in the final nine minutes of the game.

The No. 2 Avalanche, playing without captain Joe Sakic following his one-game suspension for a knee-on-knee hit on Detroit's Kris Draper last Saturday, built their lead on two goals from Peter Forsberg.

Game 2 is set for Friday night in Denver, with the best-of-7 series shifting to Edmonton on Sunday.

The Oilers' Curtis Joseph had 25 saves, and Patrick Roy had 31.

Guerin made it 2-1 on a power-play goal at 11:02, scoring from the slot through a screen by Ryan Smyth.

Barely a minute later, Janne Niinimaa sent the puck the length of the ice and Todd Marchant chased it into the right corner, passing to McAmmond, who beat Roy on a shot from just inside the left circle at 12:22.