The B’s hosted the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night in the city’s first pro sporting event since Monday’s horrific Boston Marathon tragedy. It was a night filled with emotion, one that the Bruins were clearly moved by. However, they were not alone in being touched by what went on inside that building.

While the Sabres weren’t representing a city struggling to return to its feet, the visitors surely felt the impact of one of the most moving nights in the Boston’s longstanding history.

“It’s emotional for me as well as an American even as a member of this society where we live and we’re free and you hate to see these things happen,” Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said. “I think transcends what nationality you are, we’re all people and it was horrible to see all the people injured and the people who died.”

The emotion flowed early and often, and that started with an unforgettable pregame scene which featured a video montage looking back at Monday’s events in advance of Rene Rancourt giving way to 17,000-plus singing the national anthem.

“And the video right before we had to play was pretty emotional, pretty raw and I can’t imagine what everyone is going through here,” Miller, who said he couldn’t bring himself to head down toward Boylston Street, continued. “Just kind of looking over your shoulder and I think first responders, people in the blast area, everyone in this city is showing tremendous character and I wouldn’t expect anything less from an American city. It just shows how great our society can be when we step up. It’s unfortunate such a horrible event has to happen.”

Miller was far from alone in being touched by what went in the Garden for a precious few moments leading up to puck drop between two divisional rivals.

“It definitely puts things into perspective,” Buffalo forward Drew Stafford told reporters. “It goes to show you that there are more important things than hockey and the game here. This is our job. We are trying to put on a show for the fans, and hopefully give them some sort of escape. Know that with everything that happened, emotions were extremely high tonight. I am sure that there were not a lot of dry eyes in the stands during the anthem. That intro was pretty powerful.”

The Bruins and Sabres let the fans and the city know that they were behind them with the way they played Wednesday night. But that also carried over into the final seconds after the Sabres wrapped up a shootout win when the two teams met at center ice, tapping and raising their sticks in salute of the fans and the city.

“We talked about it before the game,” Buffalo forward Cody Hodgson said. “We feel for the city of Boston and the people involved. It affects everybody. It’s something that we talked about. A quick tribute to them and what they have done.”

Photo via Twitter/@BuffaloSabres

Click here to see what the Bruins had to say about the emotional night >>

Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference went on the Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast Thursday afternoon with Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski, and the B’s blue-liner said it was Buffalo forward Thomas Vanek‘s idea to salute the crowd.

“You’ve gotta give all the credit to Vanek,” Ference said. “That was pretty awesome. They talked to their trainer when they got to the rink and the trainer passed on word they wanted to do that. We all thought that was ultra classy of them to go above and beyond what they already did. First class.

“That was awesome for them to think of that. That’s pretty rare that a visiting team goes out of the way to do something like that. It meant a lot to us as a team and to the fans as well.”

Ference said that it’s just one small part of the healing efforts that the Bruins hope to join in moving forward.

“It’s a long-term thing,” he said.  ”This isn’t an event that goes away after a couple of weeks. These are families that have had their entire lives changed. … It hits pretty close to home. You feel pretty helpless right now. But going forward we know we have a role to play in the community with just helping any way we can.”

The emotion was evident at TD Garden from start to finish, as the Sabres came away from the game with a shootout victory over the Bruins. After the game, both teams met at center ice to raise their sticks in a salute to the Boston crowd in a touching moment that certainly meant a lot to those who saw it.

Check out a photo of the moment below.

Photo via Instagram/nhlbruins

Shootout, Sabres 1-0: 

Sabres win 3-2

First round:

Tyler Seguin stopped by Ryan Miller
Thomas Vanek stopped by Anton Khudobin

Second round:

Patrice Bergeron stopped by Ryan Miller
Nathan Gerbe stopped by Anton Khudobin

Third round:

Brad Marchand stopped by Ryan Miller
Drew Stafford scores

Sabres win.

End overtime, 2-2: The Bruins were given a power play with just 3.7 seconds to play, but they were unable to score before the final buzzer. That means this is going to a shootout. It will be the first of Anton Khudobin’s career.

Overtime, 3:50, 2-2: Anton Khudobin made two big saves to begin the overtime period, including a game-saver against Thomas Vanek.

Overtime, 0:01, 2-2: Overtime is underway here at the Garden.

Third period, 19:33, 2-2: Just like that, the party has been spoiled — for now at least.

Thomas Vanek just throws the puck at the net, and it’s tipped home by Cody Hodgson. What a gut punch for the Bruins.

Third period, 19:12, Bruins 2-1: Andrew Ference, just moments after his game-saving save, is going to the penalty box.

The defenseman was whistled for delay of game, and the Bruins will have to fight and claw for this win.

Third period, 19:00, Bruins 2-1:  Andrew Ference just made a brilliant play as he went sliding through the Boston crease to rob a goal behind Anton Khudobin.

The Buffalo net is empty.

Third period, 11:31, Bruins 2-1: More of the same in the last few minutes from the Bruins, thanks in large part to the play of the Patrice Bergeron line.

The boys are back together, and Bergeron along with Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand, have had themselves a game. They just had another scoring chance, this time a wrist shot from Seguin in the slot, but Ryan Miller made the glove save.

Third period, 9:57, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins used their penalty kill to swing games on multiple occasions earlier in the season, and they just got another one of those game-changing kills.

The B’s killed off Milan Lucic’s four-minute penalty in impressive fashion, using nothing but hard work and hustle. The PK once again generated chances for Boston, with Daniel Paille (who else) getting after loose pucks in the Buffalo zone.

The Bruins are really starting to outclass and outmuscle the Sabres in the third, and they’ve outshot Buffalo 13-5 in the final period.

Third period, 4:57, Bruins 2-1: Yet again, the Bruins will have to kill a penalty.

Milan Lucic was called for high-sticking, and it’s a double-minor. The B’s have their work cut out for them.

Third period, 4:14, Bruins 2-1: The Sabres couldn’t score on the power play. In fact, they didn’t come close.

The Bruins did, though, when Daniel Paille got loose on a breakaway. He used his speed to get separation, but he couldn’t quite find the finishing touch, and Ryan Miller sprawled to make the save to keep out the shorthanded bid.

Third period, 0:49, Bruins 2-1: Patrice Bergeron has been one of the Bruins’ best players in this one, but they’ll be without him for the next two minutes.

The center was just called for hooking, and the Bruins have a power play to kill here early in the third.

Third period, 0:01, Bruins 2-1: The third period is underway with the Bruins looking to hold on to this lead.

Second period reaction: The second period was just about as good as the first period was for the Bruins, and they can say they have the lead through 40 minutes.

After everyone got the emotional stuff out of the way and was able to start really focusing on hockey, we saw play start to pick up in the second. Things got noticeably chippier and more physical on both sides, and it started to look like a game between two teams that really don’t seem to like each other very much. After delivering just five hits in the first period, the Bruins bit back in the second with nine hits and really upped the physical ante. They also showed no fear in defending one another, as Zdeno Chara went after Pat Kaleta at one point, while Gregory Campbell and Dennis Seidenberg both stood up for Jaromir Jagr after the forward was bullied by John Scott.

The Bruins’ line of Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly and Nathan Horton has been their best of the night. The trio has looked sharp and fast, and they have accounted for both Bruins goals. They’ve been gritty goals, too, with Kelly working hard to feed Paille in the first and with Kelly showing no quit in eventually stuffing home Boston’s second goal.

End second period, Bruins 2-1: The second period started a little slow and a little sloppy, but things got pretty entertaining — especially if you’re a Bruins fan.

The B’s take the 2-1 lead into the dressing room. We’ll have some more in a few minutes.

Second period, 14:48, Bruins 2-1: Chris Kelly continues to impress in his return to the Bruins lineup, and he just gave the B’s the lead.

Kelly jammed home a puck in front of the net to score a gritty goal by just outworking Christian Erhoff. The score puts the B’s back on top 2-1.

Second period, 14:01, 1-1: Things are really picking up in the nasty department. After a whistle, it was John Scott who went after Jaromir Jagr of all people. That happened right in front of the Boston bench. So, as you might expect, it didn’t go over that well. Some pushing and shoving ensued, and that was that.

Second period, 12:19, 1-1: The physical intensity of this game is definitely starting to pick up here in the second period. Unsurprisingly, Brad Marchand finds himself in the middle of a lot of the extra stuff, and he seems unafraid to mix it up after the whistle, despite playing in his first game since suffering a concussion.

Second period, 10:20, 1-1: Sorry for the lack of updates, but we just had some nonstop, end-to-end action that didn’t lend much time to update.

Anyway, the Sabres came out playing pretty sharp hockey in the second period, and they looked to be controlling the pace. However, behind a crowd that’s willing them back to better play, the Bruins have responded.

They had a fine chance when Jaromir Jagr hit Brad Marchand with a gorgeous pass through the neutral zone, but Marchand was stopped by Ryan Miller while also being slowed some by the Buffalo defense.

Both Marchand and Patrice Bergeron look very good in their returns to the lineup.

Second period, 0:05, 1-1: The second period is underway.

First period reaction: Let me start by saying that the pregame ceremony was done perfectly. It was understated, but strong. It was poignant and also galvanizing. It was just terrific, and it obviously hit a high point when this sellout crowd took over for Rene Rancourt and belted out the national anthem. It was a truly unforgettable moment that those who saw it both live and on TV will never forget.

The game started off pretty sloppy, which was to be expected. Both teams were likely full of emotion and likely jitters, and it showed with some uneven play. The Bruins got on the board first with some great forechecking and a gorgeous centering pass from Chris Kelly who fed Daniel Paille and he put it by Ryan Miller.

From there, though, Miller was really good. The Bruins tested him early and often with 12 first-period shots, which Miller stopped 11. The Bruins’ top two lines looked to be clicking. The reunion of Brad Marchand, Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron combined for a few scoring opportunities and four shots on goal. Bergeron doesn’t look to have missed a step. He’s a perfect 5-for-5 in the faceoff circle and he’s already logged 6:17 of ice time. David Krejci, who is also skating with new linemates in Gregory Campbell and Jaromir Jagr, has also been impressive in the circle, winning all three draws he’s taken. That line had a couple of scoring chances of their own, the best coming when Jagr passed a puck through the slot to Krejci who couldn’t quite gain control of the puck.

End first period, 1-1: An emotional first period comes to an end with the game tied 1-1 here at the Garden.

We’ll try to break it down in just a few minutes.

First period, 18:20, 1-1: The Sabres have tied the game, and of course, it was Thomas Vanek.

The longtime Bruins nemesis scored on the power play when he tipped in a Christian Erhoff shot from the point.

First period, 17:44, Bruins 1-0: Boston’s penalty kill must do it again just a few minutes later.

This time, it’s Zdeno Chara going for interference.

First period, 15:17, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty, and as they had earlier in the season, they appeared to get a jump from the kill.

That led directly to a pair of chances for Chris Kelly who was once again fantastic on the PK. He’s been great since he returned.

First period, 12:53, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins’ power play didn’t produce much of anything, as they struggled to control the puck in the Buffalo zone.

The Bruins will actually have to kill off a penalty of their own now. Brad Marchand was called for a very suspect tripping call, meaning the Boston penalty kill goes to work for the first time. That unit will be happy to get Patrice Bergeron back after a suspect showing Saturday night at Carolina.

First period, 8:43, Bruins 1-0: It is not a good night to be the Buffalo Sabres. This building is rocking, and it keeps getting louder.

It may really go nuts if the Bruins score on the power play they’re about to go on. Jochen Hecht gets called for slashing, and the first power play belongs to Boston.

First period, 5:45, Bruins 1-0: Annnnd TD Garden just erupted.

The Bruins get on the board first when Daniel Paille scores on a pass from Chris Kelly to give the B’s a 1-0 lead just a few minutes into play.

First period, 0:10, 0-0: The game is under way after one of the most unforgettable pregame scenes you will ever see.

7:15 p.m.: There is a hockey game to be played tonight as well. The Bruins need just one point to clinch a playoff spot. There’s also a chance the B’s end the night in first place as well. Montreal is playing right now in Pittsburgh, and Boston sits just one point behind the Canadiens, so a Bruins win and a Canadiens regulation loss would propel the B’s into first place with a game in hand as well.

7:10 p.m.: The Bruins’ lines look to be the same as they were in morning skate.

The highlights of those lines include Milan Lucic skating on the “fourth line” while Nathan Horton goes to the “third line.” Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron return to the lineup alongside their old buddy Tyler Seguin. And David Krejci gets to skate alongside countryman Jaromir Jagr as well as Gregory Campbell.

7 p.m.: The Bruins and Sabres have taken the ice for pregame warmups. Anton Khudobin will get the start for Boston, while Ryan Miller will go for Buffalo.

The Bruins usually take the ice for pregame warmups to a Kanye West song. Tonight, they came out to the Dropkick Murphys’ “State of Massachusetts” instead.

6:50 p.m.: As mentioned earlier, the Garden doors have opened, and fans are filing in at a pretty good rate.

I’ve already seen a handful of American flags as well as countless signs. Some have opted for a combination of both holding flags reading things like “Believe in Boston” or similar sayings.

6:45 p.m.: Garden organist Ron Poster just wrapped up his version of The Standells’ “Dirty Water” which is the song both the Red Sox and Bruins play after winning a game. It’s obviously a staple in the city, and I’ve got to think it won’t be the last time we hear it on this evening, regardless of whether the Bruins win or lose.

6:30 p.m.: The gates have opened, later than normal with the 7:30 start, and plenty of fans have already filed in. It seems like there’s more fans in here an hour before puck drop than usual. You have to imagine that has a lot to do with folks taking it a little safer as to avoid the long security lines outside.

Forgot to mention this earlier, but the Bruins will also make a sizable donation to the Marathon tragedy victims. You can read more about all of those donations by clicking here.

5:40 p.m.: Good evening and welcome to TD Garden. Security was admittedly beefed up on the way into the arena, which was to be expected. In fact, it’s a welcomed sight. If you’re heading in for the game, hopefully you’re reading this from your phone while waiting in line to get in, as it’s going to take a little while longer than normal to enter. That’s likely fine by everyone.

The Bruins and TD Garden certainly have the Boston Marathon victims on their mind tonight. As I type, they’re putting the finishing touches on some of the new board stickers in the corners of the rink. The stickers feature the website OneFundBoston.org, and also have the blue and yellow ribbon to remember the Marathon.

That’s not all, either. The Garden scoreboard was bordered by blue and yellow ribbons a  little earlier, as were the message boards that wrap around the entire arena. You can see what I mean by clicking here.

Members of the Bruins and TD Garden staffs are all wearing blue and yellow ribbons as well.

In terms of pregame ceremonies, all we really know at this point is that the Bruins will show a video montage as a tribute before Rene Rancourt sings the national anthem. That’s going to be one of the best anthems you’ll ever hear, so be sure you don’t miss that.

As a reminder, NESN will not be broadcasting the game. Unfortunately, this was one of the games NBC Sports has taken, and they’ll have coverage of this one instead.

3 p.m.: Here’s a quick programming reminder. The Bruins and Sabres will not be seen on NESN tonight. Unfortunately, it’s a national broadcast that you’ll be able to see on NBC Sports Network.

2:20 p.m.: Here’s a little bit of good news to help you along during your Wednesday.

The Bruins just announced that they, along with the NHL, NHLPA and TD Garden will combine to donate $250,000 to The One Fund, a charity raising money for the victims and their families of Monday’s tragic events.

The Bruins also announced that winger Brad Marchand will put suite tickets for the first Bruins playoff game up for raffle. The proceeds will go to the Richard family, who lost 8-year-old Martin in Monday’s attacks.

2 p.m.: Wade Redden, who the Bruins acquired on trade deadline day, will be in the B’s lineup for the first time Wednesday. Boston coach Claude Julien confirmed that as well Wednesday morning.

We don’t have any news on the starting goalie, however. Both Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin left the ice during morning skate at about the same time.

“He’s at our end,” Julien joked when asked about which goaltender would be the starter against the Sabres.

1:55 p.m.: There’s a ton going on yet again, but first a couple of lineup changes to pass along.

Bruins head coach Claude Julien informed the media a little earlier that both Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron will be in the lineup for this game. Both have been out recently with concussions. For Bergeron, it will be his first game since April 2, while Marchand will be back in the lineup for the first time since April 10.

10:57 a.m.: Brad Marchand was spotted with Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin at morning skate. Milan Lucic was skating with Shawn Thornton and Rich Peverley. Check out the rest of the lines here. –JB

10 a.m. ET: We’ll never forget, but we do have to try and move on at some point. The City of Boston will continue to try and do that Wednesday night when professional sports return to The Hub for the first time since Monday’s attacks at the Boston Marathon.

The Bruins rightfully postponed Monday night’s scheduled tilt with the Ottawa Senators, but they’ll get back to work Wednesday night when Buffalo  comes to town. The Bruins spoke about the impact Monday’s horrific events had on them, but the club also talked about how they know they can play a role in the healing process.

“We have to go out there and do our jobs,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after practice Tuesday. “You want to show people you are proud to represent this city.”

Wednesday night’s game won’t undo what happened Monday, but hopefully for a few hours at least, it offers some sort of temporary refuge for Boston sports fans. With that being said, there is still plenty at stake for the B’s once they hit the ice.

The B’s are still hoping to clinch a playoff spot, and they can do that with just one point Wednesday night. Luckily for the Bruins, they’re starting to get healthy as the regular season winds down. There’s a good chance Patrice Bergeron will be back in the lineup Wednesday for the B’s. All the club was waiting for Monday before clearing the center was the final go-ahead from the team doctors.

Puck drop from what’s expected to be an emotional, heavy-hearted and likely very loud TD Garden is set for 7:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, the B’s announced various initiatives to support everyone affected by the Boston Marathon. Most notably, the Bruins will be part of a $250,000 donation to The One Fund Boston supporting Boston Marathon victims and their families.

Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs has pledged $100,000 to the charity foundation on behalf of the entire Bruins organization and players. The One Fund Boston was established to raise money to help those families affected by the Boston Marathon. The TD Garden, NHL and NHLPA will also be making a donation of $50,000 each, raising the combined total to $250,000.

“Our family has been touched by the heroic moments of so many individuals and the strength and resiliency of this community to stand together in solidarity in support of those who were injured and those who lost their lives in this unimaginable tragedy,” Jacobs said in a press release. “On behalf of our entire family, we pledge our unwavering support to this community as the process of healing begins.”

In addition to the donation to The One Fund, the Bruins will also be holding a series of events to help show their support for the families and people affected by the recent events. These events include a player and team staff ticket donation for first responders to tonight’s game, Bruins and Sabres in-game support and a Brad Marchand suite raffle for the team’s first playoff game.

The Bruins players and team staff also combined to donate 80 tickets to first responders.

“The efforts that have taken place from ownership, management, players and all our associates to put together the proper recognition at tonight’s game for those who responded, helped and comforted all those who have been affected by the tragic events this past Monday have been remarkable,” Bruins president Cam Neely said.

During Wednesday night’s game, both the Bruins and Sabres players will be wearing “Boston Strong” decals on their helmets. Members of the Bruins organization will also be wearing blue and yellow ribbons in remembrance of those affected. Furthermore, the TD Garden will be illuminated with blue and yellow lighting and will have two dasher boards that will display the TheOneFundBoston.org with a blue and yellow “Boston Strong” ribbon alongside. TD Garden legend Rene Rancourt will sing the national anthem with fellow members of the Boston Fire Department Honor Guard.

The Boston Bruins Foundation and the 50/50 raffle will be going around during the game to collect any donations fans wish to give to The One Fund Boston.

The last event will include Marchand — who will be raffling off his own TD Garden suite for the Bruins’ first home playoff game. All proceeds from the raffle with go directly to the Richards family of Dorchester, whose son Martin passed away on Monday.

“Our whole team saw the photos of Martin at our game from last Thursday and learned that he and his family are big fans of ours,” Marchand said. “This is just one small gesture which I hope can help the Richard family during this incredibly sad time for them. What they are going through is unimaginable and we will try to assist them in any way we can.”

The raffle is currently live if you visit www.bruinsraffles.org. This raffle includes not only Marchand’s suite for the evening, but also a visit from the Bruins forward after the game and a meet-and-greet session.

Bruins president Cam Neely announced Wednesday on 98.5 The Sports Hub that the Bruins will play their regularly scheduled game with the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night at TD Garden. That comes just two days after explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line rocked the city.

That tragedy forced the B’s to postpone Monday’s scheduled game with the Ottawa Senators. The club announced Tuesday afternoon that the postponed Bruins-Senators game will be played on April 28.

Cam Neely on @985TheSportsHub now, said right now tomorrow's game is still on; "city has informed us that there are no issues w/playing"^CS

—
Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 16, 2013

Before a faceoff in Thursday’s game against the Canadiens, Ott appeared to lick the visor of Montreal forward Jeff Halpern. It seems like Ott was up to his old tricks all night on Thursday, as he also got in a fight with Canadiens defenseman Francis Bouillon during the second period.

Check out the disturbing video of Ott and Halpern below.

After beating the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Sunday evening, the Buffalo center let his feelings about the hometown crowd be known to reporters. Ott said that the crowd was booing the team “every chance they had” during long stretches of play in the Sabres’ end.

On Tuesday, however, Ott went even further, blasting his hometown fans in a radio interview with WGR. While Ott admits that “we do have a lot of fantastic fans,” he notes that the booing is pervasive, and that “negativity breads negativity.”

Check out the entirety of Ott’s comments below, as transcribed by The Buffalo News.

“I think it’s completely ridiculous, to be honest with you. We go into other buildings, we’ve won a lot of games and teams should have the same amount of frustration, sold-out buildings and it’s funny because they’re continuing to cheer on their team. They stand behind their team. They respect the work ethic and everything else.

“It’s disheartening when we did get hemmed in our zone and they’re basically mocking us when you get up past the blueline and you finally get it in their zone after I guess you could say that minute and a half shift when they didn’t have a scoring opportunity. I guess you can say it was more the mocking of my teammates and everything else that probably pissed a lot of guys off, including myself.

“You’re a fan of the Buffalo Sabres and hopefully you come to cheer us on and motivate us to be good. We’ve got a lot of young players on this team and they definitely don’t deserve to be booed. They deserve to have that excitement and energy. It’s definitely not their fault for the last six years of frustration that’s gone on.

“I don’t care how frustrated anybody is. Negativity breeds negativity and if you want to see a bad product on the ice, continue to boo. What do you expect? You’re obviously going to get a negative result. It would be nice to have the positive atmosphere and maybe that will transition into a heck of a hockey game or maybe even a scoring chance or opportunity. It definitely is very uplifting when the crowd is on your side.

“I’m not bagging on our fans at all because we do have a lot of fantastic fans. It’s just disheartening when it’s those 0-0 games or 1-1 games and you’re looking for some positive energy in our crowd. It’s something you go in other buildings fighting for a playoff spot with a young team and I guess you say we’re dying for that extra energy from our crowd.”

Sabres sniper Thomas Vanek has one more (pricey) year remaining on his contract after this season — his final of a seven-year, $50 million contract — and Buffalo may be looking to part ways, according to The Buffalo News.

Vanek makes $6.4 million this year but his cap hit is over $7 million per year, meaning he won’t be easy to move.

The 29-year-old Austrian doesn’t want to leave Buffalo, but general manager Darcy Regier has said that he’s open to discuss offers on anyone and everyone on the team and Vanek is realizing he could be on the way out.

“I would definitely like to stay,” Vanek told BuffaloNews.com. “I like this area. I’m comfortable where I’m at, but I would like to know what the direction is. The next four days I can’t control, then after that we’ll see what Darcy and [owner] Terry [Pegula] and them have to say.”

The lifetime Sabre has 54 points (28 goals, 26 assists) in 48 career games against the Bruins. In 576 career games, he has 246 goals and 234 assists.

“I think every year you think about that, but obviously this year probably more than any other year because of the position we’re in and one year left on my contract,” Vanek said. “Obviously, you think about it, but at the same time it’s part of the business. If it happens, it happens, and we’ll move on.

“I haven’t talked to anyone about what their plan is. Again, it’s something you can’t control,” he added. “If it happens, you move on and you help whatever team you move on to. If you stay here, I’ll do the same things I’ve been doing for the last eight years.”

Colton Orr, who has a total of 1,026 penalty minutes in his 11-year career, recorded 29 minutes in just two seconds of playing time on Thursday. The Maple Leafs’ right winger not only served two minutes for cross-checking Buffalo’s Patrick Kaleta, but he also received two minutes for instigating, five minutes for fighting, a 10-minute misconduct and a 10-minute game misconduct.

Orr becomes the fifth player since 1987-88 to play 20 seconds or less and post more than 20 penalty minutes, according to Hockey-Reference.com.

Check out Orr’s antics in the video below.

The Sabres goalie made headlines following Sunday night’s loss to the Washington Capitals, when he called out Buffalo forward Patrick Kaleta after Kaleta complained about being sat down after returning from a suspension. Miller said that Kaleta needed to “grow up” as well.

Just a couple of days later, Miller is saying he was told Kaleta said something different than the forward actually said and that, combined with the fact that he was frustrated following the loss, led him to criticize his own teammate.

“You can get me to say just about anything after a loss like that,” Miller told the Sabres’ team website. “I’ve talked to Patty and I’ve actually apologized to Patty. I felt like what I was told he said and what he actually said were two different things. … He’s frustrated he can’t be out there, which is exactly what you’d expect. We’re just gonna try to move on from that.”

To Miller’s credit, he did acknowledge that just keeping quiet — he actually declined comment Sunday before apparently changing his mind — would have made things easier.

“Either way, I probably shouldn’t have handled it that way, but I was frustrated. I think everybody in Buffalo knows I’m prone to say stupid things over the course of the season,” said Miller, who also once called Bruins forward Milan Lucic a “gutless piece of [expletive]” following  a game.  ”I just wanted to make sure that I handled it with Patty and handled it publicly. It wasn’t the right thing to say no matter what, but I feel like it was a little misrepresented [of what Kaleta said] to get me to say what I did.”

See video of his comments below.

Things are starting to get a little tense in the Buffalo dressing room as well apparently. The frustration is clearly starting to mount, particularly for goaltender Ryan Miller. He hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind in the past, and that continued Sunday night following yet another loss to the Capitals.

Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta was eligible to return to the lineup Sunday night after serving a five-game suspension for a reckless hit on New York Rangers forward Brad Richards. However, Sabres coach Ron Rolston opted to make Kaleta a healthy scratch.

“He understands what just happened and the way he’s got to play,” Rolston said, according to The Buffalo News. “But again, we want to balance the way he plays and not take that away from him either because that’s what makes him a valuable hockey player in the league.

“On the other hand, it’s a situation where he understands that sitting out five games for him wasn’t a good thing and it wasn’t a good thing for our team. We have to make adjustments and he has to make adjustments going forward.”

Kaleta went on to say that he was “pissed off” about the decision as well. Miller was asked about all of it after Sunday’s game, and the All-Star goalie pulled no punches.

“He’s being dramatic,” Miller said of the agitating forward, according to The Buffalo News’ Sabres Edge blog. “We’re not even discussing what Patty says, you guys. That’s just drama and he needs to just grow up if he’s gonna say that to you guys. You know what? He had a stupid play in a game. He sat, he was punished. He has to get over it and move on.

“We handled it. He doesn’t have to go to you guys and say that stuff. There: I’m addressing it now and I’ll go and talk to him about it. There’s no reason to say that.”

Brendan Shanahan

Richards returned to the game after the third-period hit — and New York scored twice on the ensuing five-minute power play before eventually winning in a shootout — but Rangers coach John Tortorella blasted Kaleta after the game, calling the hit “disgusting.”

“I’m glad we made them pay,” Tortorella said Sunday night. “It’s disgusting. It’s a lack of respect. Each team wants to beat the other team, but you have to respect what’s going on, on the ice.”

Kaleta did not directly apologize for the cheap shot, but said he regretted putting his teammates in a poor situation, telling reporters before his disciplinary hearing that seeing the Rangers tally a pair of power-play goals at his expense made him “feel like a bag of garbage.”

Shanahan, the league’s head disciplinarian, said that Kaleta’s appearance of being fully in control when he made the hit coupled with the 26-year-old’s history of disciplinary problems led him to deal out the first five-game suspension of the 2013 season. This is the fourth multiple-game suspension in seven NHL seasons for the winger, with the most recent stemming from a head-butting incident against Philadelphia in 2011.

To see the hit and hear the rationale behind the suspension, check out the video below.

Photo via Facebook/Buffalo Sabres

“How do we stop Steven Stamkos?”

The Tampa left winger led the NHL in goals last season when he put in 60 total, which won him the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Stamkos’ early-season success this year has put him right back into the running again.

However, with many others getting off to hot starts, there are plenty of contenders looking to take the title away from Stamkos.

Sabres forward and resident Bruins killer Thomas Vanek enters Thursday as the current league leader in goals (12) and points (25). Those numbers are extremely surprising, considering the most that Vanek has ever scored in an 82-game season was 43. It will be interesting to see if the Buffalo star can keep up his pace.

Islanders forward John Tavares is also having a stellar season so far. Tavares already has 11 goals and is on pace to pass his record for a full season (31 goals) in about half the time. As is the case with Vanek, it will be interesting to see if Tavares can continue to put up numbers that he never has before.

Out west, Chicago right wing Patrick Kane is also having early-season success, as is his entire team. Kane’s nine goals lead a Blackhawks team that is averaging over three goals per game. Kane’s plus-nine rating further supports his value playing for a team in Chicago that has yet to suffer a regulation loss.

Some five months later, Rolston has inherited the entire Sabres team.

Rolston will make his NHL debut as the Sabres’ interim head coach Thursday. That’s when Buffalo plays at Toronto, a day after coach Lindy Ruff was fired amid growing criticism for the Sabres’ (6-10-1) sputtering start.

It was an abrupt move for a franchise that hadn’t changed coaches since Ruff was hired in the summer of 1997. And the decision to fire the franchise’s winningest coach (571-432-162) came after Buffalo’s high-priced lineup blundered through a 2-1 home loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday, drawing boos for its lethargic play.

“I think the last game was quite honestly a tipping point. And it was evident to me that we were searching for answers to too many questions,” general manger Darcy Regier said. “I think we were making some strides, but in the end, for every two steps forward, it was one step back, and sometimes not that.”

The loss was Buffalo’s 10th in 15 games (4-10-1), and it occurred days after Ruff defiantly addressed his critics by saying he wasn’t done trying to “clean up this mess.”

Now, that cleanup job falls to Rolston, the younger brother of former NHL star Brian Rolston.

He’ll have the interim title for the remainder of the season, during which he’ll be judged as a candidate to take over the job full time.

Rolston, who was in his second season coaching Rochester, was scheduled to join Regier on Wednesday in traveling to Toronto for his first meeting with Sabres players.

Some of them he’s already familiar with.

Center Cody Hodgson, forward Marcus Foligno and defenseman T.J. Brennan played for Rochester during the lockout. On Wednesday, the Sabres also called up center Kevin Porter, who was leading the Americans with 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists).

Rolston went 36-26-10-4 last season in leading Rochester to the playoffs. This season, the Americans (27-18-2-1) are second in the North Division and sixth in the Western Conference.

Before Rochester, Rolston spent seven seasons as coach of USA Hockey’s National Team development program. During that time, he became the first coach to lead the U.S. Under-18 team to win three gold medals (2005, 2009, 2011).

“His teams play with structure, discipline. They have a work ethic,” Regier said, of Rolston’s Americans.

Those were traits lacking in the Sabres for much of the past two seasons under Ruff.

Last season, despite owner Terry Pegula committing more than $140 million in salary to add and re-sign players, Buffalo was one of the NHL’s biggest busts in missing the playoffs for the third time in five years. Not much appeared to have changed a month into this season.

The Sabres were sloppy and lacked cohesion. Their power play was anemic, having converted just 8 of 62 opportunities to rank 29th in the NHL. And they were 26th in the league in allowing an average 3.29 goals.

“I think there are a lot of unknowns with our team right now,” Regier said. “We believe in the players, that they can achieve certainly more than where we currently are. Hopefully, it’s a lot more, but time will tell.”

Under Ruff, the Sabres made the playoffs in each of his first four seasons and eight times overall. That included a surprising run to the Stanley Cup finals in 1999, when Buffalo lost to Dallas in six games.

Ruff was the NHL’s longest active-serving coach with one team. Among North America’s four major pro sports, Ruff’s tenure with Buffalo was second only behind Gregg Popovich, who’s been coach of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs since 1996.

In the NHL alone, there had been 170 coaching changes since Ruff was hired on July 21, 1997.

Ruff’s 571 wins rank second in the NHL with one team, trailing only Al Arbour, who had 740 wins with the New York Islanders.

Ruff’s ties to Buffalo go back to his days as a player. Selected in the second round of the 1979 draft by the Sabres, Ruff made the team later that year. In November 1986, he replaced star Gilbert Perreault as the Sabres’ captain.

The decision to fire Ruff came shortly after he oversaw a 90-minute practice. Regier went to Ruff’s home to inform the coach of the decision. He then allowed Ruff to visit with players as they boarded a bus to travel to Toronto.

“I’m disappointed for myself. I’m disappointed for Lindy. And when I see the players, I’m disappointed for them, too.” Regier said. “We should all be disappointed.”

The Sabres fired their longtime head coach on Wednesday after the team sputtered to a 6-10-1 start to the season. Ruff was in the middle of his 15th season as head coach. General manager Darcy Regier made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon.

Ruff had become a Buffalo fixture. Not only has he been head coach since 1997-98, he also played with the Sabres for 10 years during his NHL career, beginning in 1979.

The Sabres made the playoffs in eight of his 14 full seasons with the club, including a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1999. However, the Sabres haven’t been to a conference final since 2007, and they have only finished better than third in their division once in the last four seasons.

Buffalo had high expectations heading into this season after some offseason moves, but it never came to fruition in the season’s first month.

The Sabres had been playing uninspired hockey as of late, scoring just one goal a loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday, just a couple of days after blowing a late lead against the Penguins.

Of course, there were plenty who thought this had been coming for a while, saying Ruff’s voice was no longer resonating in the Bufffalo dressing room.

Ruff had been the longest-tenured coach in the NHL, and the second-longest in the four major professional sports behind San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

The Buffalo goaltender has been incredible this season, despite repeated defensive breakdowns in front of him. Following the Sabres’ loss to the Penguins on Sunday afternoon, it sounded like frustrations were starting to get the best of Miller. While he wasn’t calling out his teammates or anything, the All-Star goalie was heated after Buffalo gave up a late goal to lose the game.

“It’s just a [expletive] way to lose,” Miller told reporters, according to BuffaloHockeyBeat.com. “I don’t understand. Your guard has to be up at all times. They get right back in the game, one broken play to seal it for them. [It's] just preventable and not what we need to be doing right now.”

Miller was eventually asked which of the four Penguins goals bothered the most.

“Just [expletive] losing at the end,” he answered. “It’s 3-3, get overtime. It’s 3-2, [expletive] make him come all the way down, worked too hard. I don’t know.

“I thought a couple of tough bounces to start, good goals by them, a tip and a play off the end wall. We recovered and we played really well  It was our best second period we’ve had. … You’re either competent enough or experienced enough with the lead in the third period. It burned us. It’s not acceptable.”

(Stick tap to CBS’ Eye on Hockey blog for passing this along.)

The Bruins looked like the better team for 40 minutes on Friday night, but unfortunately for them, a hockey game takes 60 minutes to finish.

The Sabres stormed back against the B’s in the third period, taking advantage of the fact that Boston hadn’t put the game away earlier despite countless chances to do just that.

Afterward, coach Claude Julien admitted to NESN’s Naoko Funayama that his team was caught off-guard by the desperate play of Buffalo, and he lamented the fact that the Bruins hadn’t capitalized when they had the opportunities.

See more of the conversation in the video from Ace Ticket Presents Bruins Overtime LIVE.

Things certainly looked bleak for the Buffalo Sabres after two periods. The Bruins led, Ryan Miller was under siege and if things didn’t turn around, head coach Lindy Ruff might have very soon found himself on the unemployment line. But everything changed in the third period, when the Sabres roared back to overtake the Bruins and keep Ruff on the bench for at least one game more.

Miller’s 30 saves paved the way for Buffalo to beat the Bruins in regulation once again, making them the only team to accomplish that feat so far in the 2013 season. Despite Dougie Hamilton‘s first career goal, the Bruins couldn’t capitalize on their chances and paid the price in the end.

NESN Nation’s Dan Duquette is awarding Miller our “Hot Seat Helper” player of the game. Who’s yours?

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The official time of the goal was 17:56 into the first period, a time Hamilton will likely never forget. Teammate Milan Lucic made sure to grab the puck out of the net for Hamilton, and that puck will be one of many pieces of memorabilia that Hamilton will likely collect throughout his promising NHL career.

Check out Hamilton’s power play blast in the video below.