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It wasn’t easy, but they did manage to pull out the win, never trailing in the game.
Quite different from game two, Buffalo scored the first (and second) goal of the game, and then added a 5-on-3 power play goal to make it 3-1, holding on for the 3-2 win.
All of the scoring was in the second period, with Ryan Smyth scoring at 19:22 of the 2nd to make it seem close. It was lazy play by the Sabres (as though the period was already over) and great play by the Islanders… but NY just never quite matched up tonight.
The game felt close, right down to the finish, but this was another game where the Sabres were just better. New York played a great game, but never really caught up.
If the Sabres can win on Wednesday night, it would be really, really difficult for the Islanders to even win another game – let alone compete to advance to round two. Game Four is definitely important to both teams.
Things are looking good for the Sabres again! They now lead the series 2-1. Go Sabres!!
(Other Eastern Conference action… The Devils (2) lost tonight and now trail Tampa Bay (7) 2-1 in that series…. New York Rangers (6) are leading their series 2-0 against Atlanta (3) … and Ottawa (4) leads Pittsburgh (5) in their series 2-1. If they advance, the Sabres will play the lowest seeded team to advance to the second round.)