Tonight’s game not only saw a tear-jerking pregame ceremony for longtime netminder Ryan Miller, it saw this current squad control the game and mount a third-period comeback.
The night immortalized Ryan Miller and the number 30 in the rafters among other Sabres legends like Dominik Hasek, the French Connection and the illustrious sponsorship banners (we can’t win them all).
Recapping the night
The blue-and-gold came out of the gates hot in front of a sold-out Key Bank Center. Unfortunately, they fell down 1-0 halfway through the first period as Brock Nelson outworked JJ Peterka driving to the Buffalo net.
The first period ended with shots being 18-4 in the favor of the Sabres, yet they were behind on the scoreboard.
The hometown hero, Alex Tuch, netted his 22nd goal of the year to tie the game up halfway through the second frame. The Islanders responded yet again as a blown d-zone coverage resulted in the lead going back in the Islander’s favor.
The period ended and yet again the Sabres were dominating on the ice. Shots were 31-16 in Buffalo’s favor going into the third.
With 10 minutes left, ABBA was blasted throughout the arena for Victor Olofsson’s 19th of the year.
Rasmus Dahlin almost scored the goal of the year to win the game in overtime, but Ilya Sorokin was once again standing on his head.
Overtime ended quickly as Dahlin floated a pass right to the tape of Dylan Cozens who scored his first game-winner of the year, and his 15th total goal.
Miller found his way onto the ice after the game and was greeted by this Sabres squad.
Ukko-Pekka honors Miller
The Sabres would not have won this game if it wasn’t for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. While the Sabres outshot the Islanders, Luukkonen faced several high danger scoring chances.
He shut the door on a great 2-1 chance with seconds left in the third to push the game into overtime.
He has really found his footing this season and has proved this is his net to lose. If this team is going to go on a run, he will have to continue this play he is on.
A special night
We couldn’t have asked for a better game. The ceremony was perfect as the voice of RJ and other Sabres legends rang through the Key Bank Center. Buffalo dominated the game with 45 shots on goal and didn’t get frustrated when they couldn’t find the back of the net.
This team seems to really rally around special nights. They won for RJ, they won on the return of the goathead and they finally got a big win for Ryan Miller.
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