After a bitter offseason where the Buffalo Sabres had to watch their two superstars in Daniel Briere and Chris Drury venture to different franchises, they received little comfort from the start of the 2007-2008 regular season.
The Sabres opened the season with a 6-4 loss at home to the New York Islanders. The very next day, they were once again defeated by the Islanders in a 3-2 contest on Long Island.
Buffalo did not see action again until five days later, and a tragedy occurred during the wait. That Monday, Ryan Miller’s 18-year-old cousin Matt Shoals, who had battled leukemia for two years before overcoming it, died due to complications with a bone-marrow transplant.