Heading into a series against the Senators is not what Sabres
fans wanted to see back in the 2005-2006 season. Regardless the Sabres were off to a fast start in the series, winning the first two games in Ottawa.
“Since Day one, no one thought we were going to make the playoffs,” Dumont said. “We knew we had a lot of talent and character to do better than that. And we’ve showed it and proved it to everybody. … We don’t care what people think of us.”
Added co-captain Daniel Briere: “I hope people keep not paying attention to us, that’s fine by us.”
Buffalo brought the series back to HSBC Arena, hoping to take a 3-0 lead in the series. Chris Drury began the scoring with a powerplay goal halfway through the first period to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead.
As usual, the Sabre ‘killer’, Daniel Alfreddson, did some damage once again. On the powerplay, Jason Spezza took a snap shot to beat Ryan Miller to tie the game early in the third period. Alfreddson earned his first of two assists during the game.
Buffalo bounced back five minutes later with a goal from Maxim Afinogenov, propelling the Sabres ahead 2-1. With a minute and a half remaining, Ottawa was desperate to avoid losing its third consecutive game.
Spezza beat Miller again to tie the game at two, forcing the game into overtime. It only took five minutes for a goal to be scored, and here was the result: