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The Buffalo Sabres achieved a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, marking a significant moment 5,472 days in the making. The team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to score four consecutive goals.
Sabres provide Buffalo a magical night 5,472 days in the making originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
BUFFALO, N.Y. – It snowed on Sunday in Buffalo.
What better sign of a little bit of playoff hockey magic could there be than that? Even when the odds turned against them, could these magical, marvelous, mystical Sabres lose on a snowy April 19 in Western New York?
Well, it sure seemed for a while like they could. But that's how this team has felt all season. And while this may have been a more dramatic version of their norm, it's a routine they knew well.
From 2-0 down in the third period to four consecutive goals -- a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins, an all-time great victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference's opening round.
"You could feel the building shaking," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "The atmosphere was unbelievable. It was great to give our fans that third period."
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If you had written this script, it wouldn't have gotten approved. It was too crazy.
After all, these Sabres weren't supposed to be here. Not after sitting last place in the Eastern Conference a couple weeks into December. Not after 14 consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs entirely.
But somehow, some way, they had put together one of the most absurd second-half stretches in NHL history.
And so here they were in primetime, in the midst of something Buffalo hadn't experienced in any form in 5,472 days.
A game like this? Nothing like it ever.
"This team doesn't quit," Ruff said. "They just don't give up."
The Bruins went up 1-0 early, taking the rebound of a blocked shot and slotting it home.
The Sabres' win on April 19 marked a historic moment for Buffalo, being 5,472 days since their last playoff victory.
The Sabres overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third period by scoring four consecutive goals, ultimately winning 4-3.
This victory sets a positive tone for the Sabres' playoff campaign, showcasing their resilience and ability to perform under pressure.
The Sabres defeated the Boston Bruins in their playoff opener, marking a significant win in the Eastern Conference.

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It wouldn't grow to 2-0 until the third period, this time Elias Lindholm off a rebound. It could've been worse, but Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped a pair of David Pastrnak breakaways to keep it close.
All the while, the Sabres' powerplay failed to cash in, having not scored with a man-up in all of April.
That's when Tage Thompson, the gold medalist and leading scorer, played hero. Twice, he came through from below the goal after impressive forechecks by his teammates.
The first time, Thompson ended up with a little backhand wraparound. The next, a forehand shot low past Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, who had been his Team USA teammate and had played two-and-a-half brilliant periods Sunday night before things snowballed.
All of a sudden, in almost no time at all, 2-2.
"We've been in situations all season that have prepared us for games like this," Thompson said. "It's another level, and intensity ramps up, but we've been in situations where we've been behind in games and found our way out of it. So when we're in similar situations, we know we can do it again."
At that point, it felt a bit like destiny. The Sabres, on a night they doubled the Bruins in shots, couldn't lose now, could they?
"After we tied it there, you could feel the energy within the group, the belief within the group," defenseman Mattias Samuelsson said.
When Jack Quinn won a battle near the boards with three-and-a-half minutes left, and Samuelsson saw space to float into near the center of the ice, it sure was fate.
Samuelsson had been a massively impactful player on this night with multiple shot blocks and nine hits. He had earned the right to finish.
"Samuelsson was an absolute stud in the game," Ruff said.
And finish he did. A louder roar may never have been heard in Western New York. It's a wonder the roof of the KeyBank Center didn't fly off.
"The crowd was great all night," Samuelsson said. "(Thompson) got us going, and the place just erupted. You could feel the energy building. As a group, we felt once we cracked them, we felt we could go from there."
Alex Tuch added an empty-netter for good measure, starting celebrations that were sure to last all night in Buffalo. A late tally by the Bruins wouldn't dampen any spirits. This, against so many odds, was the Sabres' night.
"These are the kind of games you live for," Thompson said. "You want to be in these games. It's been a long time coming."
By the time Thompson and Samuelsson took part in their postgame press conference, it was clear they had already shifted their focus to the fact that they have more games to win. Just because this Sabres team hadn't been here in a long time didn't mean they're just happy to be here. They want it all.
The wily coach, though? Ruff knew how special this night had been.
He was asked if it was better than his first-ever playoff win.
"This one right here," Ruff said. "Right here, right now... This was probably the sweetest of all of them."
Ruff had also been asked how he summed it up to the players. And, well, the guy with nearly 1,000 career coaching wins rattled off a summation better than any we could come up with.
"I told them after the game, 'You want experience? You've got it now,'" Ruff said. "I mean, what an experience. You're gonna say this was my first playoff game? You've got a great story to tell."