Buffalo Sabres: Top 5 most exciting wins at home in 2022-23
By Sion Fawkes
1 – Craig Anderson wins final NHL start
While Devon Levi snagging a win in his NHL debut gave us a glimpse of what was coming in the future – something Levi reinforced with stellar performances on multiple occasions after that game against New York, Craig Anderson was looking for a win in what became his last NHL game. And there was no one better-suited for Anderson to face than the Ottawa Senators, an organization he has quite a legacy with.
After an uneventful first period, Henri Jokiharju and Olofsson put the Buffalo Sabres on the board quickly in the second frame’s first three minutes. And you probably could guess what happened next, as Ottawa scored three unanswered goals over the next 10 minutes.
But at the 3:03 mark of the third period, Tage scored on the power play with helpers from Skinner and Tuch, tying the game. Once again, we saw the Sabres hold defensively and the contest went into overtime. And who better to sink the final goal at KeyBank Center on Fan Appreciation Night than the surging Casey Mittelstadt?
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Fun Fact: This was the second season in a row that Mittelstadt scored a game-winning goal in OT on a night that served as an icon’s final game. Just less than one year before, Mittelstadt sunk the game-winner during Rick Jeanneret’s final broadcast, and he did it once more, this time on April 13th, 2023 vs. Ottawa, allowing Anderson to retire with a W.
(Statistics and historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)