BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — On 2000s night at KeyBank Center, the Buffalo Sabres turned into the cardiac kids, erasing a two-goal deficit to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime. In his first game since returning from injury, Victor Olofsson scored twice while Jack Eichel and Evan Rodrigues also found the back of the net as the Sabres improve to 26-24-8.
5 Observations from Thursday's win:
They Missed Vic
Think the Sabres missed Victor Olofsson? In his first game back after missing six weeks, Olofsson scored twice, including the game-winning goal in OT to lift the Sabres to victory.
On his first goal, Olofsson unleashed a cannon from his office just inside the circle, converting a gorgeous one-timer feed from Eichel.
In overtime, the two connected again, as Eichel found Olofsson with a beautiful drop pass.
His shot is truly something special and the Sabres have been pretty one dimensional without him available on the power play. Unless Olofsson completely falls asleep down the stretch, he'll surpass 20 goals this season, which is truly impressive for a rookie who missed such a big chunk of time.
Don't Steal His Hart
Jack Eichel is a cheat code.
On Thursday the Sabres captain had a goal and two assists, with several highlight-reel plays along the way. Eichel opened the scoring with a ridiculous wrist shot, sending a perfect shot top-corner to get the Sabres on the board.
In the final 20 minutes, he had two great passes to Victor Olofsson that both lead to goals. With 73 points on the season, Eichel is going to flirt with 100 points this season and he should be a Hart candidate when it's all said and done.
Job Well Done
Rightfully so, the Pegula’s and the Sabres have taken a lot of heat this year. The Sabres 50th season has been filled with slip-ups on and off the ice. But the team knocked it out of the park on 2000s night. Every little detail was perfect, from the power play song used to Sabretooth jumping down from the rafters before the opening montage. Unless fans were exaggerating on Twitter [could you imagine?] "Better Days" even caused some fans to tear up. Ahhhh, those were the days. Job well done on 2000s night.
Showing some fight
I have absolutely no problem with Jake McCabe taking a double-minor in the third period to defend his goaltender. I hate the argument that the Sabres have struggled because they don't have enough grit. But sometimes as teammates, you need to stand up for each other and this was the perfect example of it. Blue Jackets winger Eric Robinson probably could've done a better job avoiding Carter Hutton and McCabe let him know that with a few hacks to the back.
Better Days
Speaking of 2000s night, we heard from several different notable players and alumni. If you'd like to check out our full interviews with Danny Briere or former owner Tom Golisano,you can watch them here.
