Sabres Classics: Game 1 vs. Philadelphia

Daniel Briere still remembers the flight home from Carolina following the Buffalo Sabres' regular-season finale in 2006. The Sabres had clinched the fourth seed in the playoffs and were waiting to find out their opponent, which Briere expected to be either the New Jersey Devils or the New York Rangers.
"When we landed in Buffalo, the pilot came on the air and said, 'All right you guys, I wish you good luck in the first round against the Flyers,'" Briere recalled during the latest installment of Beyond Blue and Gold, which you can watch below.
"The whole plane went dead silent. We were good, we knew we could beat the Devils, we knew we could beat the Rangers, but we didn't want to play the Flyers."

It didn't take long into Game 1 for Briere to believe. A Peter Forsberg attempt on an open net deflected off the shaft of defenseman Henrik Tallinder's stick and bounced out of harm's way, an early good omen of sorts for the Sabres.
If Tallinder's save signaled luck was on their side, Brian Campbell's open-ice hit on Flyers forward R.J. Umberger was the injection of confidence the team needed. Campbell laid out Umberger as he attempted to cross the Philadelphia blue line, leaving the forward flat on his back. The hit and its aftermath have lived in franchise highlight reels ever since.
It all led up to none other than Briere doing what he did best, netting the winning goal in the second overtime to clinch a 3-2 victory.
"It was the first game, maybe they didn't have their legs," Briere said afterward. "They certainly didn't play their best game. We know that. For us, it's just one game. Now we've got to get back to even-keel and realize that it's far from being over."
Catch Game 1 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Monday at 8 p.m. on MSG. The series will air throughout the week, with the remaining schedule as follows. All games air at 8 p.m.
Tuesday - Game 2
Wednesday -Game 5
Thursday - Game 6
Friday -"Beyond Blue and Gold" compilation