The first Stanley Cup Playoff game in Western New York in 15 years was worth the wait, as the Buffalo Sabres scored four goals in the final eight minutes of regulation to beat the Boston Bruins in an epic 4-3 comeback win.
Tage Thompson broke Jeremy Swayman's shutout at the 12:02 mark of the third period to give the Sabres life. He added another to tie the game 3:42 later. Mattias Samuelsson notched the go-ahead marker 52 seconds after Thompson's equalizer, sending KeyBank Center into a frenzy. Alex Tuch's empty-netter stood as the game-winner after the Bruins scored with seven seconds left to bring the game back within one.
It's the first home playoff win for the Sabres since April 20, 2011 - a span of 5,746 days.
"You could feel the building shaking," head coach Lindy Ruff said postgame. "Even upstairs they said the same thing. The atmosphere was unbelievable."
Thompson, who also added an assist, was named first star of the game.
"These are the games that you dream of," Thompson said following his playoff debut. "So happy to finally be here."
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin lauded Thompson's role in igniting the comeback.
"We always talk about dogs have to be dogs and today he showed up and led the team," Dahlin said. "That was special."
Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm, and David Pastrnak scored for the Bruins. Geekie and Pastrnak each added a pair of assists.
Buffalo took a 1-0 series lead with the victory. Game 2 is set for Tuesday.
