The Stanley Cup Playoffs returned to the City of Good Neighbors, and the Buffalo Sabres didn’t disappoint. Fans waited over 5,000 days to watch NHL playoff hockey at KeyBank Center, and they were treated to a memorable 4-3 comeback win over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the first round. After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff made something clear about his team’s playoff expertise.
“I told them right after the game, ‘You want experience? You got it now,’” Ruff admitted, per TSN. “If you’re going to say this was my first playoff game, you’ve got a great story to tell.”
In more ways than one, the Sabres made a statement in the series opener. More importantly, they proved Boston wrong after head coach Marco Sturm doubled down on his warning to Buffalo.
Third period comeback saves the day for Sabres
The Bruins led for most of the game, but a third-period surge from the Sabres turned the tables in the blink of an eye. Buffalo scored three goals less than five minutes apart, and the capacity crowd erupted.
Lindy Ruff, head coach of the Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres are now up 1–0 in the first-round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Sabres tend to do well in Game 1 of the postseason. Going back to the 1996-97 NHL campaign, Buffalo has won eight of its nine first-round series openers.
Tage Thompson’s heroics
Trailing 2–0 in the third period, it felt like the Sabres would relive the pain that has followed them for the past 15 years. However, when the night was darkest, a hero emerged in Western New York—none other than Tage Thompson, who scored twice to tie the game.
The Sabres’ best player put the cherry on top by assisting on Alex Tuch’s empty-net game-winning goal. In his first career playoff game, Thompson finished the night with three points. He looked like a playoff vet out there, and he insisted that playoff experience may be an overrated trait.
“We’ve been in games that have prepared us for this. I think eight years of adversity is enough experience to get you ready for stuff like this,” Thompson said, via NHL.com. “The last thing you want is regret.”
Buffalo’s rocking
The job is far from finished, though. The Bruins were very close to coming away with a crucial Game 1 triumph that would’ve put the pressure on the Sabres and completely changed the tune across town. As both sides gear up for Game 2 (Apr. 21), Boston knows a win in the City of Good Neighbors can flip the momentum as the series heads to Beantown.
Still, prevailing in Buffalo will be no walk in the park. Fans have waited far too long—they will make life hell for any visiting team. If there’s a lesson to be learned after Game 1, it’s that KeyBank Center might be the loudest barn in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It was 15 years in the making; Pandora’s box has now been opened, and the Bruins are the first to experience the wrath in Nickel City.
