Sabres and Flyers close out fantastic first

Despite a scoreless opening period, the Wells Fargo Center was jumping as both the Flyers and Sabres performed at a fast and furious pace.

Both goalies saw plenty of traffic, Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk, who was playing possessed throughout, hit a goal post five midway through and both teams combined for 20 shots and 31 body checks -- the Flyers with 19 of those hits.

It was pretty amazing stuff to watch, but par for the course when the Flyers and Sabres are mixing it up.

Some of the highlights of the frame included a big hit by Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta on Ville Leino in the neutral zone and along the boards 9:08 into the frame. Mike Richards' had a golden chance off a backhand from the slot that Ryan Miller never saw but got his right pad on at the 12:01 mark. In addition to hitting iron, van Riemsdyk was also diving for loose pucks and had a few choice words for Paul Gaustad following a stoppage of play right beside Miller.

The Flyers' top line was a familiar trio -- Danny Briere, Leino and Scott Hartnell. Briere led his team with four hits and even induced a penalty on Steve Montador in the closing minutes of the first.

The Sabres, meanwhile, received an inspiring effort from Drew Stafford, who topped his team with three shots on net and three hits while logging 4:50 of ice time on six shifts.

Both Miller and Bobrovsky finished with 10 saves.

Time to sharpen up the blades for the start of Period 2 …

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