‘The Sabres took the early lead as Michael Ryan scored just a minute and a half into the game. Then Ales Kotalik went the full length of the ice and ripped a slap shot past Ray Emery to make it a 2-0 game halfway through the first. Tim Connolly had a chance to add another goal but missed a wide open net. But with less than a minute remaining in the first, Thomas Vanek found Derek Roy to make it a 3-0 Buffalo lead.’