After the endless string of heartbreaks, near misses, and disappointments these past few weeks, this is just the type of game the Buffalo Sabres needed.

The Sabres defeated the Montreal Canadiens tonight 4-1 at HSBC Arena, sending the home crowd happy for the first time in who knows how long. The team made a statement right from the get go, at one time enjoying a 9-0 shots advantage, First period goals by Clarke MacArthur, Daniel Paille and Drew Stafford put the Sabres up 3-0 after the first. This was the first time in 15 games that the Sabres scored the game’s first goal.

The Canadiens played a better period offensively in the second, peppering the Sabres with 19 shots on goal. Michael Ryder got a gimme unassisted goal off a terrible giveaway by Toni Lydman, but then MacArthur answered with his second of the night to give Buffalo a 4-1 lead. That was if for the scoring, and the third period was mostly a lackadaisical one with few scoring chances for either side.

Lindy Ruff was in a happy and joking mood after the game… “Never thought I’d be hearing Neil Diamond again” he quipped, drawing a laugh from the media. He emphasized the importance of getting ahead early, though was somewhat perturbed about the sluggish performance in the second. “Anytime you give away a puck like that, you give them a chance to get back into it” said Ruff. He praised goalie Ryan Miller’s stellar performance, especially in that second period.

I usually have a commentary on the game night presentation, and tonight is no exception. The pregame intro has devolved into total crap, to put it mildly. Remember the days when Sabretooth would drop from the ceiling to the pounding sound of “Street Fighting Man”? When “Hurricane 2000” got the fan’s blood pumping and heart racing?

Well, they gave the hook to the “Say Hey Say Yeah” Bon Jovi feel good video, and instead Sabretooth entered the darkened ice driving some sort of ATV with headlights on; he parked at center ice, vehicle pointed towards the zamboni entrance, and then just awkwardly sat there before driving off. What was up with that? The intro video, with random shots of Sabres plays, sucked, and then the team comes onto the ice. I know we’ve had a bad run of late, but this is no way to get the fans on their feet and clapping.

During one of the TV timeouts they did rebound, somewhat, with a clever prerecorded “man on the street” montage, asking fans to spell “Afinogenov”. Took several tries before someone nailed it. One shot of Max on the bench and you could see he got a kick out of it.

I also chatted a bit with former ‘GR radio personality Brad Riter who was up in the box tonight. He is gearing up for a new gig on Time Warner Channel 13. He is also blogging now and tells me he is in talks with The Big Toe about hooking up with the WNYMedia family. Brad is a cool guy and we’d love to welcome him over here.

The Sabres are off until Wednesday when they host the Ottawa Senators. Ronan Tynan comes to town, meaning fans for sure will be treated to The Dead Fat Woman’s song before the 7:05 puck drop.

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