Feb 15 2009
Sabres Defeat League’s Best
The Buffalo Sabres defeated probably the best team in the league 2 nights ago as they rallied back with a few seconds left and go on to win the game in a shootout. The game was really something else for the city of Buffalo who was part of a tragedy which took the lives of 50 people. The league gave the Sabres the option to postpone the game and play it at another time but Buffalo declined. Before the start of the game, there was a moment of silence for those that lost their lives and those that were mourning. It is something else to see 18000+ people standing and not making a sound. I am told that the silence sent chills down peoples spines as it was a very powerful moment. Buffalo got off to a quick start in the first scoring 3 goals early on and getting the arena pumped up. The Sabres blew two 3 goal leads throughout the game and found themselves losing 5-4 in the dying seconds of the game when Craig Rivet ripped a slap shot on net. With 3.9 seconds left in the game, Jason Pominville deflected Rivet’s shot from the point and into the net. The arena went crazy after that. The emotion, the passion, everything was just released in one big roar. The pan out of the arena showed everyone on their feet applauding and giving each other high fives. The passion could also be seen on the ice as all the entire Sabres team was filled with joy. It was one of those cases that sent chills down my spine. Seeing the look on Rivet’s face as they scored, the look on the rest of the teams face. You could just tell that they wanted this so bad and were not going to lose that game. The crowd gave the team a standing ovation before the overtime period. After an exciting overtime which featured much end to end action the teams were faced with a shootout. Buffalo had the advantage in this category as they are statistically one of the leagues best in that category. Derek Roy would clinch the shootout victory for Buffalo and put the city of Buffalo at some ease. After the game, several of the players commented on how the win was for the city of Buffalo and hoped it would help numb some of the pain temporarily. The Sabres next game is at home tonight against Carolina.
I would like to send out my thoughts and prayers to those who lost their lives, and to those who have lost loved ones. I know this is a difficult time and it has changed peoples lives forever.
-Sabs Hockey Nut
