The Sabres found themselves in another tight game in Philadelphia, trailing 1-0 entering the third period. Paul Gaustad scored the equalizer with 12:48 remaining, and a scoreless overtime gave way to a brand-new element in the NHL in 2005-06: the shootout. The NHL had adopted the shootout prior to the season as a means to guarantee a winner in each game. Entering their game against the Flyers, the Sabres had already played three shootouts and had a 2-1 record to show for them.
The Sabres' hopes were on life support in this one, trailing 1-0 entering their final attempt after Peter Forsberg beat Ryan Miller. Tim Connolly scored against Antero Niittymaki to even the tally, then Miller stopped Jon Sim on the Flyers' ensuing attempt.
Maxim Afinogenov scored the deciding goal on Buffalo's fourth attempt. He'd finish that season with a team-high three goals on five attempts in shootouts.
Miller, meanwhile, would go on to develop a sterling reputation in the shootout throughout his career with the Sabres.
"Growing up, my cousins were older than me, they played in the NHL," Miller told Marty Biron last week. "The fun time for me on the ice was they would just mess around and do some breakaways. They were NHL players and I was 10, 12, 13 years old. For me, the breakaway was the ultimate thing.
"… I thought it was fun. It was a challenge. The way [the NHL] set up the shootout for points, it was just a bonus point. It's time to go out there and you're up against the best players on that team or the best players in the world, and they're trying to score. There's no bigger challenge."
After the game, Sabres co-captain Chris Drury offered a quote to the Associated Press that seemed to define that 2005-06 team.
"We're unflappable on the road," Drury said. "We seem to be fearless right now."
