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In a game that went back and forth more than Hamlet deciding whether or not to be, the Buffalo Sabres emerged with a 7-6, shootout win. In a battle of futility between some of the (supposedly) best goaltenders in the NHL, nobody could play defense very well, or at all. Andrew Ference started the scoring just 1:29 in, followed after 37 seconds by Jason Pominville to tie the game, and Dennis Seidenberg 43 seconds after that. Brad Marchand put the Bruins up 3-1 at 5:36, and remarkably, no more scoring took place until 13:45, when Buffalo cut the lead to 3-2. Zdeno Chara put the Bruins up 4-2 30 seconds later, just 14 seconds after Marc Savard went to the box for slashing. Drew Stafford got the Sabres back within one with 41 seconds left in the period. Get all that? No? Neither did the rest of us.

Throughout all of that, Tuukka Rask opposed Ryan Miller, but Tim Thomas came out to start the 2nd instead of Rask. Not that things went any smoother, just with less scoring. Mark Recchi was called for hooking 22 seconds into the period, and Thomas allowed two goals to let Buffalo take a 5-4 lead. Thomas let in an even strength goal at 6:17, and a power play goal (which was really an own goal on Seidenberg) at 17:43.

Even with all that, Boston pulled it together throughout much of the 3rd; Tyler Seguin managed to tie the game at 3:08, and Steven Kampfer put Boston ahead 6-5 at 7:06. The Sabres were held to five shots on goal during the final regulation period, but they made it count when they did. With an empty net and extra attacker, Buffalo tied the game with just 27.8 seconds left, and the Bruins still almost won with about 10 seconds remaining. But on their second goal with less than a minute in a period on the evening, Buffalo sent the game to OT.

After an uneventful overtime, the shootout was loaded with action. Plenty of the shots were from a good distance away, but still went in. In fact, the first five shooters all scored. Only the final shooter, Zdeno Chara, failed to score; he just went wide with it. And so ends the tale of how Boston should have walked out with two points, but settles for one.

JERRY!! JERRY!! Moment of the Game:

At 3-1 Boston, Adam McQuaid did scrap with Cody McCormick, though with that 1st period, a fight was surprisingly not the most exciting moment.

Scoring Summary:

Penalty Summary:

Goalie Stats:

Shots on Goal:

That’s What He Said:

“It was one of those games where neither team seemed to be able to get a hold of it.” – Claude Julien on the night’s progress

Game Notes:

• Chara had gone 23 games without a goal; Seguin had gone 11.
• Boston is now 17-0-1 this season when they led by two at any point in the game.
• Boston is 3-9-4 on the season when trailing at the 2nd Intermission.
• For the first time in Bruins’ history, four different defensemen scored in the same game.
• Boston is now 1-5 in shootouts; their six OT or later losses this season are second most in the NHL behind Edmonton.

Tags: Adam McQuaid, Andrew Ference, Blake Wheeler, Brad Marchand, Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Claude Julien, Daniel Paille, Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk, Marc Savard, Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder, Patrice Bergeron, Steven Kampfer, Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask, Tyler Seguin, Zdeno Chara