Jeff Carter remained hot against Buffalo as he scored the opening goal for Pittsburgh to make it 5 goals in the last 2 games for the veteran goal scorer. In his first game of the season, 28 year-old goaltender Maxime Lagace recorded an impressive shutout against Buffalo as he saved all 29 shots on net.
Carter’s goal, which would end up being the game winner, came just under 2 minutes into the 2nd period. The puck was centered in front of the net and deflected up by Anders Bjork’s stick and directly into Carter’s chest and then behind Michael Houser and into the net.
Houser: "That was satisfying, I thought the effort we showed for all 60 minutes, it was really fun to play behind…they made it really easy…" #Sabres
— Brian Koziol (@BrianWGR) May 8, 2021
Aside from that goal, Houser played a solid game saving 22 of 23 shots against. The team also had a much better defensive effort in front of Houser for his 4th and final game of the season. There was really only one highlight for the Sabres in the entire game and it was a beautiful leg save from Houser on the one-time attempt.
Michael Houser… 🤯 pic.twitter.com/FV4G49m4IR
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) May 8, 2021
With only one goal, there weren’t many other events worth noting for the season finale. In their last regular season game, Pittsburgh was able to gain a 4-point lead as the division leader over the Capitals. However, Washington still has 2 more games to go.
Buffalo finished the year in last place with a 15-34-7 record for 37 points in the shortened 56-game season. With the poor season however, they are now guaranteed a top-3 pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
Interim Coach Don Granato had this to say following the final game of the season. He would have to be hired in the off-season if he is to be back behind the bench for the Sabres next year.
Granato: "I'm proud to be part of the organization, the Sabres and honored to be in charge…and be surrounded by good people and good players…as a coach, you have nothing if you can't push guys…guys wanted to be pushed, they felt they had more…" #Sabres
— Brian Koziol (@BrianWGR) May 8, 2021