Overreactions, Edition 67: Winning Ugly

They can’t all be pretty. But if it’s a win, it’ll do.

No one can say the Buffalo Sabres dazzled on Thursday night, but they managed to find a way to come out on top, earning a 4-3 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins.

Brad Boyes tapped home the winner in the extra period, as Nathan Gerbe grabbed his own rebound and sent it past Boston’s Tim Thomas to his teammate. The Sabres also got goals from Tyler Ennis, Thomas Vanek and Tim Connolly, but despite their obvious offensive skill, they were gritty goals. With scrambles in the crease, all of them trickled over the goal line.

“Physically, we know they are good,” Gerbe said. “They are a top team and they have a lot of good players so we had to play them tough.”

Ryan Miller made 26 saves, and for the most part wasn’t exactly stellar but was good enough to get the win. He was beat by a shot from Rich Peverly in overtime, but was saved by the goal post.

• Props to the officials tonight for being willing to make calls when necessary and not let things go. Yes, they made some mistakes (Marchand’s triple axle after running into Myers included), but for the most part, they called what was warranted. The Bruins may feel the referees were after them, but if you’re gonna play cheap, you deserve the calls.
• Andrej Sekera, save for a few hiccups, was incredible yet again. Didn’t hit the scoresheet, but he was dynamic as ever. His recovery on a shorthanded breakaway for Boston was a huge play in the game.
• Tyler Ennis is closing the gap from rookie to star a lot quicker these days. Sabres have no one on the team that can possess the puck like he can.
• Just from seeing the highlights on NHL Network, Jack Edwards shouldn’t be allowed near a microphone. His delusions just feed into the psyche of Bruins supporters. No wonder Boston fans are the most intolerable assholes in the league. (Yes, for those who haven’t been to Boston, the Leafs fans who invade HSBC look like saints)
• Chris Butler has been a minus player in one game (vs Detroit) in the last month.
• Cody McCormick deserves some credit for throwing down when called upon. The Sabres don’t have a lot of guys that are willing to do it now. With Weber and Kaleta out, there’s really only McCormick and Gaustad who can fight. Steve Montador’s presence on defense is too important now to have him sitting out.
• Rob Niedermayer was the only Sabres forward without a shot on goal. He can’t be playing more than 13 minutes, I don’t care if he scored a couple goals or not.