The Sabres picked up where they left off in the preseason by providing plenty of offense and beating the New York Islanders 6-4 in the season opener. The Sabres got two goals from Daniel Briere and Maxim Afinogenov in a wild, offensively explosive game.

"We can't go crazy. It's just one game," cautioned Briere. "But at the same time it's a great feeling to get it under our belt. It builds confidence. We still have 81 games to go, but it's a good way to start."

It was the return of Alexei Zhitnik and Miroslav Satan to Buffalo after they signed with the Isles as free agents. Both were booed every time they touched the puck and Satan is already being criticized by the New York media for doing what he was infamous for in Buffalo....slacking off.

Satan took two late penalties that sealed the Isles fate and Buffalo scored the clincher when Afinogenov hit the empty net from center ice. Zhitnik scored one of the flukiest goals you'll ever see when he cleared the puck in, a low popup that hit the ice and bounced in through Ryan Miller's five hole.

"I kind of felt like I was facing a Wakefield knuckleball," admitted Miller, who made 22 saves.

"I goofed up there pretty good, but everything else I felt like I was in control."

Zhitnik was definitely the better of the two pickups for the Isles as Satan is going to drive the New York fans and media crazy this season. While Zhitnik almost turned out to be a hero for the Isles, Satan was definitely wearing a goathead as he committed two unforgivable sins that resulted in penalties late in the game.

The Sabres, who say they are going to deal one of their three goaltenders, seem to be intent on making Miller the No. 1 goalie. Based on the fact that Mika Noronen only got one start in the preseason, where he allowed 5 unanswered goals in a 6-3 loss, Biron seems to be secure as the Sabres second goalie.

"There's been so much hype put into the start of the season, so much drama with the goalie situation," said Miller. "There's been so much put into the new rules. It was fun to just go play hockey and go enjoy myself."

There were around 4,000 fans disguised as empty seats at the opener, but that didn’t bring down Sabres owner Tom Golisano.

"Not only did they come back with open arms, they really embraced this team right from the very beginning," said Golisano. "I think it's great. The game was quick and the fans enjoyed it."

Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn echoed the owner’s thoughts.

"I hoped for something like this, and I'm thrilled that we got it," said Quinn. "You could see that the fans are into this, and that hockey's back."

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