A ridiculous Sam Reinhart play brought the Buffalo Sabres back to life on Monday night, pulling them even at 2-2 more than halfway through the third period against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center.
Reinhart then got a ridiculous tip in front of the Islanders net with just over four minutes to go to put the Sabres ahead. He then add an empty-net goal for some insurance to hold their lead the rest of the way in Buffalo's first win of the year in seven tries against the Islanders.
It was a tough situation for Sabres rookie goaltender Michael Houser, making his National Hockey League debut in a year he's seen no action and hasn't even played in a professional game since March 7, 2020 in a 1-0 shutout win for the ECHL's Cincinnati Cylclones against the Toledo Walleye.
Let's take a look at three observations from Monday night's win against the Islanders:
1.) Houser the obvious great story from this one
Houser has spent a good part of his year splitting time between the Rochester Americans and, most recently, spending most of his time on the Sabres' taxi squad. Houser hadn't played in an American Hockey League game since the 2017-18 season with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Those things didn't really matter, as Houser was rock solid in his NHL debut.
For not having played in a game all season, Houser seemed focused, and only got beaten by deflected shots by the Islanders.
Houser made 34 saves on 36 shots, and gave the Sabres every opportunity to win this game. In the end, the Sabres came through for Houser.
Sabres interim head coach Don Granato announced in his postgame press conference that Houser would be the starter in Tuesday's matchup against the Islanders. With Dustin Tokarski away from the team and the Sabres not rostering another healthy goaltender with Linus Ullmark still on the mend, why not go with Houser again?
2.) Reinhart makes dreams a reality for Houser
The Sabres went down by two early in the second period. Normally, a 2-0 lead for the Islanders is enough for them to hold things there until the end.
However, the Sabres forced their hand midway through the third when Reinhart worked the puck toward the net, falling to the ice as he found an open Rasmus Asplund in front to tie things up at 2-2.
Reinhart's heroics didn't stop there.
Later in the period, Reinhart cleanly won a draw against Islanders center Mathew Barzel and headed for the net unchecked. The puck slid back to Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who waited and fired a wrist shot through an open, shifting lane that deflected off Reinhart's stick and in. Reinhart's goal gave the Sabres the 3-2 lead with just over four minutes to go.
The Islanders pressed, but Houser made a couple of key saves before Reinhart sealed the game with his empty-net goal.
Reinhart hit the 25-goal mark with his empty-netter, tying a career high he hit in the 2017-18 season in 82 games played. He hit that mark this season in Game 51 of 56.
3.) Asplund finding his way as a net-front presence
Asplund scored his eighth goal of the year on Monday night. The 23-year-old has played in just 25 games this season, starting the year on the Sabres' taxi squad and getting some sprinkles of action from former Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger.
Since Krueger's dismissal, Granato has relied on Asplund for his offense, consistently playing on a line with Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt over the past month or so.
Since getting a more regular spot in the lineup, Asplund has scored five goals in 18 games. His impacts show that he is a great net-front presence with decent finishing ability.
If he provides NHL level defense, Asplund will be a good depth player for the Sabres to rely on in the future.
----------
The Sabres will get just one more opportunity to spoil some points for the Islanders in the 2020-21 season. That opportunity comes on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
We'll get things kicked off with the Paul WIlliam Beltz Pregame Show hosted by Mike Schopp and the Bulldog at 6 p.m. ET. The action gets underway shortly after 7 p.m. ET on the radio flagship station of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
