Campbell helps Sabres beat Sens in OT
By Rick Anderson
March 25, 2002
Erik Rasmussen scored the winning goal 1:27 into the sudden death session to give the Sabres a much needed two points. With the win, Buffalo once again moves to within 3 points of the last playoff seed in the East. They had lost two previous games to the Bruins and Leafs, so it appeared as if they were as good as dead. However, the other teams around them haven’t helped their cause by forging ahead of the Sabres, so Buffalo somehow is still in the thick of things - for now.
Brian Campbell was one of the young heroes this early Sunday evening in Ottawa. He tied the game up at two when he scored at the 16:55 mark of the final period. Taking a feed from Vaclav Varada, Campbell wristed one past Senator’s goalie Patrick Lalime.
"I was just going to shoot top shelf,” said Campbell about his choice of shots. “I didn't really look at where I was shooting. I was just shooting it hard. It rattled off the post and just made it over the line."
Campbell also instigated the winning goal as he made a nifty spin move after skating down the left side and the he fed a pass to Maxim Afinogenov. Lalime blocked the Afinogenov shot, but it went right to Erik Rasmussen skating in on the left side. Rasmussen slammed it home for the winner.
"Campbell made an unbelievable play," lauded Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.
Another young hero was goalie Mika Noronen, who posted his second impressive win in recent weeks. Noronen made 25 saves and kept the Sabres within striking distance when the Senators could have easily run up the score. Noronen had beaten the Philadelphia Flyers the other week with an impressive performance and he equaled his outstanding goaltending against Ottawa.
The Sabres took the early lead in this game when J.P. Dumont scored on a powerplay 8:32 into the first period, deflecting a shot by defenseman Jason Woolley. Woolley, who had been scratched for a couple weeks, finally got to play after being denied his request to be traded at the trading deadline. The Sabres were on another powerplay when Juha Ylonen took over the puck from Chris Gratton in the Sabres zone, where Magnus Arvedson recovered it. He then passed it back to Ylonen who finally got a backhand through Noronen’s pads at the 2:07 mark of the second stanza.
"My five-hole was open, and when that happens you can put a beach ball in if you want," Noronen admitted. "I can laugh about it now."
Wade Redden scored what the Senators hoped would be the winning goal at the third period’s14:05 mark while the Sens were on a powerplay. Then Campbell scored the tying goal and the Sabres started to get on a roll.
"It was 2-1 with five minutes left but we never gave up," proclaimed Rasmussen. "We came up real hot in the first and they came out hot in the second. We dug ourselves a hole turning the puck over in the second so we came out in the third with something to prove."
Just when the final nail is ready to be put in place in the Sabres coffin, they break out like ghouls in the Night of the Living Dead and get a new life. Suddenly, with the help of the losses of teams around them, the Sabres are just three points back from the last playoff slot again.
"Every point you get is huge," said Chris Gratton. "We're fighting for our playoff lives. We've been playing playoff hockey since January it seems and tonight was no different."
"Losing three games in a row wouldn't be too great," reflected Campbell. "We needed those two points badly. We needed that win and it'll be a great confidence builder. We needed it, otherwise it would have been a long way to go."
Rasmussen was glad to finally help out the club.
"I want to be given a chance to play and show that I can do it," said Rasmussen. "When given a chance, I think I've gone out and played well. But I'm just happy to contribute toward the playoffs."
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This season is just maddening for Buffalo Sabres fans. Just when experts have written them off for the postseason, the Sabres come up with a victory that puts them right back in the running. That is what happened Sunday evening as the Sabres came back from behind to post a 3-2 overtime victory over the Ottawa Senators.
This ain't football! Senators' Martin Havlat dives close to the goal line like a halfback diving over the line as he barrels over Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell and Sabres goaltender Mika Noronen in second period action. Noronen, who made 25 saves, was the star of the game.
[AP Photo/Jonathan Hayward]
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