Gorges, playing his 783rd game, captured that same feeling. An unrestricted free agent this summer, he said it began to hit him in the third period that it could be his final game, either as a Sabre or in the NHL. He was thankful for the opportunity to start, potentially for the last time.
"I was surprised," he said. "I didn't expect that. I think it was a nice gesture. I appreciate that. Having it be Risto out there with me, a guy I played with for a couple years, an amazing guy, an amazing friend, it was cool to be out there one more time."
As a leader who laid it all on the line night in and night out, Housley felt Gorges had earned it.
"I think there's still a lot of fight in Josh," Housley said. "I totally respect a guy who's been through the wars and the teammate he was this year. I know it wasn't easy for him to sit out stretches of games, but he kept plugging away, he was a good pro about it.
"That's one of the reasons we started him and wanted to play him tonight. I don't know what the future holds for him but obviously he's got a lot of character and a lot of pride."
What the future holds for the team in general remains to be seen. The Sabres hope the impending playoff run in Rochester will serve as invaluable experience for players like Brendan Guhle, Alex Nylander and Casey Nelson, all of whom showed promised during their NHL stints.
At the same time, evaluations will be made, and so will changes.
"As of right now, we're going to evaluate everything," Housley said. "Obviously, we don't want to be in this position again next year."