It took sixteen shooters in the overtime shootout period, but the Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres tonight, 4-3. It was the first time I can remember a shootout going into sudden death.
Briere, Drury, and Stafford (called up from Rochester) scored power play goals for Buffalo in the loss.
I saw the first period and tuned back in for the third period through the remainder of the game. From what I saw, it was an exciting, entertaining game. There were good chances on each side … perhaps the best opportunity was Hecht missing an open net late in overtime.
The Sabres had more power plays, but got into trouble at the end. They were down two men to finish regulation and going into overtime.
With the recent injuries to Afinogenov, Spacek, Novotny, and Gaustad, Buffalo called up Stafford and MacArthur from Rochester. Both played well. Ales Kotalik didn’t complete this game, however, and Andrew Peters didn’t play much. So, there will likely be another callup and still be questions as the trade deadline approaches. The acquisition of Forsberg by Nashville ups the ante, balanced somewhat by the possibility of Tim Connelly’s return … although having missed the whole season to date, even that welcome addition is no white knight.
In the postgame press conference with Lindy Ruff, there was a question about Hecht’s out-of-character fight:
Q: When was the last time you saw a fight on a power play?
A: It’s been a while … a while. It’s the last time I’ll see a German in a fight in a power play for a while, too.