Neither I nor the Sabres attempted a shot on goal during the third period of Buffalo's game against the Hurricanes Wednesday night. We're so alike in many respects. However, despite going shotless over the 20 minutes, the Sabres scored an insurance goal to put away the Canes and complete Ryan McLeod's first career hat trick, whereas I accomplished none of those things. Some entities have all the luck.
The stinky Sabres jumped out to a three-goal lead on the playoff-bound Canes on the back of a Dylan Cozens goal bookended by a pair of McLeod tallies, but few leads are safe with this team—they've blown two multi-goal leads this month alone, including in their previous game. And the Canes roared back with a pair in the third, as they dominated the ice, outshooting Buffalo 8-0 in the frame and 37-24 on the night.
But with time winding down and the Carolina net empty, Tage Thompson fired a full-ice puck that clanged off the post (not counted a shot on goal). McLeod, racing for the loose puck, was hacked from behind by Brent Burns, breaking the Sabre's stick. Still not a shot on goal, but also, you can't do that.
Under normal circumstances, McLeod would've been given a penalty shot. But because the net was empty, a goal was awarded—without a shot being recorded. It was a little anticlimactic: hats rained down from the stands, but McLeod wasn't officially credited until several minutes after the game ended, because the NHL's official scorers were still debating whether to credit the goal to Thompson, since McLeod never actually touched the puck. I'm happy for him; really I am. But I just want to point out that I also didn't touch the puck and perhaps should have been worthy of consideration.
Buffalo achieved some trivia with their third-period futility and unconventional insurance goal. They are the first team since at least 1966, when the NHL started tracking these things, to score a goal in a period in which they didn't record a single shot. I guess you could say the Sabres and I made history last night.
