As bad as things were for the Sabres against the Islanders last night, there was one shining moment for Sabres fans to hang their hats on: in the third period, Nathan Gerbe set a Sabres team record for fastest two goals by one player by scoring twice in five seconds. The previous record was held by Derek Plante and Danny Gare, each with two goals in ten seconds.
Gerbe's first goal was scored on a sweet rush through the neutral zone followed by an even sweeter top shelf backhand to beat Islanders goalie Kevin Poulin. The second came seconds later on some good work to dink and dunk the bouncing puck through traffic, out of the defenseman's skates, and into the net - with a little help from Mike Grier.
The diminutive forward's play the past few games has been anything but, and this scoring feat is some sweet icing on the Gerbe cake, which also contains a surprisingly delicious filling of physical play.
Gerbe's pair of goals five seconds apart is a Buffalo Sabres team record and ties Pete Mahovlich in 1971 for the second-fastest pair of goals ever scored in the NHL. The all-time record of two goals in four seconds is held by both Nels Stewart (1931) and Deron Quint (1995.) Congrats to Gerbe, and I think I can speak for all Sabres fans when I say please feel free to do this as often as you'd like.