It wasn’t exactly a nail-biter, but it sure as hell felt like a playoff game.

Game recap

Center Ice Sports Bar was packed with fans decked out in their blue and gold last night, with every seat at the bar taken. The hype was certainly there to get people riled up about the match-up against the Washington Capitals, sitting in the Sabres’ coveted eighth spot.

The first period set the tone for the rest of the game with Cody McCormick and Drew Stafford capitalizing on some great opportunities to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead. Fans at Center Ice were certainly pumped, but a two goal lead is not something to feel exceptionally confident about with 2 periods to go. The nerves were still present in the air.

Getting into the second period, Thomas Vanek worked a shot off to make it 3-0 a few minutes after puck drop. But after a quick faceoff, Alexander Semin from the Capitals shot one past Miller to bring the game within two at 3-1.

It became very clear that the Sabres’ plan was to completely shut down Washington superstar, Alex Ovechkin who only had four shots the entire game. This was even more evident when the left wing gave away the puck to Jason Pominville, who took full advantage and scored a shorty in the second period to make it 4-1, Buffalo.

Although slightly less exciting, the third period brought the second goal of the night by Drew Stafford who shot off a great pass by Ennis to make the final score 5-1. Not once was the lead held by the Sabres threatened in any way. The team seriously stepped up and made a statement that they want the playoffs.

Twitter reaction

For the more vocal fans in the Sabres community, the hockey bloggers, writers and personalities certainly voiced their praises for the team’s performance. Here are a few “twitter highlights” from last night and how they reacted via social media.

Check out the game highlights from last night’s win here:

Photo courtesy of Twitter