“You could tell that shift Tuchy had his legs and he was feeling it,” Krebs said. “… Kind of had a feeling that he was going to throw it in there, and had to be in the right spot at the right time.”
“We didn’t get flustered,” added Josh Norris. “It’s been like that the whole year. Something happens, who cares? Move on. Stuff’s gonna happen. … It’s how quickly you can respond and get back to your game.”
The own goal wasn’t the first adversity the Sabres faced in the game. Late in the second, Lee crunched Norris into the boards from behind; the Buffalo forward was slow to get up and required stitches in his face. No penalty was called.
As has become the standard, Buffalo retaliated. Sam Carrick fought Lee to open the third but sustained a left-arm injury while falling to the ice. The Sabres’ trade deadline pickup and fourth-line staple didn’t return and is still being evaluated.
“I feel terrible for Ricky,” Norris said. “He didn’t have to do that; that’s just the type of guy he is, the type of teammate. I really appreciate that from him and just feel for the guy. Hopefully it’s not too bad.”
Echoed coach Lindy Ruff: “I don’t think I can say enough about him stepping in. … I just hate to lose him. But I think the team rallied behind that a little bit, seeing him go off, and it was great to get the win.”
Ruff should have an update on Carrick within the next couple days. For now, here’s more from win No. 46.