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Buffalo Sabres: What made each overtime win special in March?

By Sion Fawkes

Mar 23, 2022; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing Tage Thompson (72) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2022; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing Tage Thompson (72) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 18, 2022; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames forward Elias Lindholm (28) and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju (10) and goalie Dustin Tokarski (31) react to a shot on net in the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome.Sabres won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports /

The Buffalo Sabres have done something few NHL teams accomplished this season: They won three straight games in overtime

The Buffalo Sabres knew this season would be nothing special and for a while there, they toiled in the league’s doldrums. Then they turned around and won seven games in March, with their previous three wins occurring in overtime.

One was a shutout win, the team’s first since October 25th, 2019. The second, against the Vancouver Canucks, concluded a mini-road trip in which they finished with a winning record. The third and most memorable was a classic heavyweight duel with the Pittsburgh Penguins that ended in a shootout.

Not only have the Sabres knocked off three playoff contenders; they did so in games they probably would not have won earlier this season. The recent slate of overtime wins shows how much this team has grown since the All-Star Break, where the Sabres could not get over the injury bug and bouts of COVID-19.

Finally a healthy team, the Sabres have put the NHL on notice. No, they won’t embark on a miracle run or anything, though it’d be cool if they did. But they can at least finish the season with a winning record in March and April. And that will bring momentum to the team heading into the offseason.

And better yet, marquee players may look at Buffalo, New York, and say, “Hey, they’re building something special up there, and I wanna be a part of it.” It only takes a few memorable wins for a league to take notice. And while the Sabres have had a few of them, nothing has quite compared to their current winning streak.

So let’s relive the last three games and reflect on what makes them so special. Starting with the epic in Calgary.

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