Sabres come up short against Rangers in Winter Classic

NEW YORK -- Bundled up in their seats at Citi Field on Monday, 41,821 fans watched a hockey game in a baseball stadium.
They saw music stars Ace Frehley, the Goo Goo Dolls and Max Weinberg's Jukebox. There were nine yellow cabs slowly going back and forth in the outfield on tarps that served as makeshift city streets, bringing New York flavor to the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic in the home of the New York Mets.

To a man, the Buffalo Sabres admitted being in awe of how enormous the spectacle of this event was on a clear crisp day in New York.
\[RELATED: Miller overtime goal lifts Rangers past Sabres in Winter Classic\]
Which is why their 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Rangers hurt so much.
The crowd was big and so was the New Year's Day national television audience on NBC.
And yet, in the end, the margin between winning and losing was so small for the Sabres.
"It's a game of inches," Sabres forward Jack Eichel said.
Eichel specifically was referring to a play in overtime in which he and linemate Sam Reinhart broke into the Rangers zone on a 2-on-1. Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh was the only one between the two Sabres and Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Seeing a passing lane open, Reinhart attempted to feed Eichel. Just as it appeared Eichel would have an outstanding chance to end the game, the puck glanced off McDonagh and changed direction enough to slide through the legs of the off-balance Eichel.

"I'm not sure if it hit the tip of his stick or his skate," Eichel said. "Either way, it's tough to come so close on such a big stage."
Instead of having their best player be the hero, the Sabres found themselves shorthanded less than two minutes later when forward Jacob Josefson was called for tripping. It took 28 seconds on the ensuing power play to end the game, with Rangers forward J.T. Miller converting a Kevin Shattenkirk rebound for the winner at 2:43 of overtime.
Miller's goal spoiled a valiant comeback by the Sabres, who trailed 2-0 8:20 into the game. But goals by Reinhart at 56 seconds into the second period and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen 27 seconds into the third had Buffalo dreaming of a comeback.
Just as Ristolainen was tying the game, Sabres owner Terry Pegula was walking through the press box. When Ristolainen was shown scoring on a nearby TV, Pegula looked up and smiled.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Pegula, who also owns the Buffalo Bills, had celebrated the first playoff berth of Buffalo's NFL franchise in 17 years. A win in the Winter Classic would have been the icing on the cake.
But it was not to be. McDonagh and Miller made sure of that.

"I'm proud of our team," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "We got off to a slow start and they jumped on us right away. But we didn't give up.
"Unfortunately, when it comes to overtime games, we just haven't been able to finish things off."
The Sabres are 2-8 in overtime games this season.
"It was a great experience," Eichel said. "From the anthems, flyover, fireworks … it brings chills to your spine.
"I thought we did some good things there. Took steps forward.
"We came so close …"
In the case of the Sabres, so close and yet so far.