Game 65: Playing up

The Sabres both had every reason to deserve a win against Vegas on Saturday afternoon, even if it didn't look like it would happen for a while.

BUFFALO — The Buffalo Sabres beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday and it was such an odd game for both teams.

The Pacific Division leading Golden Knights looked off all game long and even when things got heated there wasn’t the kind of wicked response you’d expect from a team with vicious competitors on the roster like they have. They led for a majority of the game and even got the lead back after Buffalo tied it midway into the third period. Even though they were outshot by the Sabres all game, they had an odd hold on the game, probably because of the Sabres.

And yet, the Sabres hung around. They battled, they were imperiled in a few different ways, their hopes were dashed and rescued and ultimately fulfilled in the end.

It was a sleepy game turned on its head and into a thriller. What more could you want?

“A step in the right direction, for sure,” captain Rasmus Dahlin said. “Now we look like a team. We’ve had a lot of discussion lately, how we want to play these last, whatever, 20 games or whatever it is. Today was a good step in the right direction. Now it’s up to us to keep going.”

With so much to discuss and recap and kick ideas around about, let’s just get to the action.