Sabres Close Out Home Schedule With A Win

Jason Pominville scored what might have been his final goal for Buffalo as a Sabre [Getty Images][/caption]Buffalo Sabres winger Jason Pominville was too emotional to answer the question earlier in the day, but promised to address it after the game.  And even though you could see the tears starting to well up in his eyes he held it together as best he could. 

Thursday night's 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Fan Appreciation Night may have been Pominville's final home game as a Sabre.  And by scoring Buffalo's fifth goal of the game it allowed the fans to give him an extended ovation to show their appreciation for his many years of dedication and great memories.

It's hard to believe the end may be near for Pominville.  Where did the time go?  He scored one of the most memorable goals in franchise history - the overtime playoff series winner against the same Senators in 2006.  An amazing goal because it came shorthanded.

Weren't those fun days?  And now we have a Sabres team that has made the playoffs in eight years.  Maybe next year.

Ah, but for one night the Sabres rewarded the fans for coming out.  They limited the Senators to a pair of first period goals, the Sabres scored twice on the power play and the team's captain and most valuable player Jack Eichel had an goal and two assists.

Rookie Victor Olofsson scored his second NHL goal on a great pass from Sabres Rookie of the Year Rasmus Dahlin.  Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart had the other Buffalo goals.

It was a fun night.  Too bad there weren't more of them this year.

After the game Eichel said they'll have plenty of time to think about things before next season.  We've heard that before, but he insisted that the team did make progress this year.  Except for that exciting winning streak at the start of the year, it's hard to agree with him.

For all the great things they did, there were too many negatives.  So many issues need to be addressed in the offseason and again the issue of whether the team has the right coach and even whether they have the right general manager in place will have to be looked at.

They have one more chance to finish on a positive note by beating Detroit on Saturday night.  If they do that it will be first time since the middle of December that they've won two games in a row.  That would be a small measure to build on.