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.
"These are the games that you dream of," Thompson said following his playoff debut. "So happy to finally be here."
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.
