The Olympic break must have recharged the Buffalo Sabres‘ magic tanks, because everything seems to go their way these days in the final minutes of the game.
Matt Moulson scored with just 52 seconds left, and Matt D’Agostini beat Zdeno Chara and Bruins goalie Chad Johnson in overtime to give the Sabres an exciting 5-4 win.
The game looked like the complete opposite of the one we all watched on Tuesday, as the Sabres came out strong, scored first, and went on to take a 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Brian Flynn, Zemgus Girgensons, and Tyler Myers. All this despite first line center Tyler Ennis out with injury, and being replaced by Ville Leino, who finished with one of his best offensive games of the season.
However, the Bruins wouldn’t be held down for too much longer, and eventually came back to take a 4-3 lead midway through the third. But with Enroth pulled, Moulson scored to send the game to OT, where D’Agostini sent the fans home happy.
The Sabres have now won two in a row since returning from Sochi, and will try to make it three against the Sharks on Friday. Don’t worry too much about the winning yet, folks – trading talent away and a brutal finishing schedule still await. Just enjoy some winning hockey for now, because there won’t be too much more of it once the team inevitably trades 4-6 of its starters away.
Three Questions
1. Will we see a better effort in front of Enroth than we saw last night?
Absolutely. The Sabres came out very strong here, scoring first and giving the Bruins all they could handle in the first period. Things would swing back in Boston’s favor later in the game, but this was certainly more enjoyable than the 50 minute snoozefest we watched on Tuesday.
2. Will Jhonas Enroth’s silver medal help give him the power to turn his horrible season around?
YES! Enroth earned just his second win of the year in this sloppy game – he made 29 saves and had an .879 save percentage. The win was his first since October 25.
3. Ville Leino on the top line? Really?
Don’t look now, but Leino had two assists and was a +2 in this game.
Three Stars
1. Brian Flynn – 1g, 1a
2. Zemgus Girgensons – 1g, 1a
3. Matt D’Agostini – GWG
Comment of the Game
I liked that.
Myers was rewarded for doing something dirty. Just like life.
It’s a good lesson for the kids to learn.