BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres paid tribute to Bills safety Damar Hamlin with a moment of celebration before Saturday night’s home game against the Minnesota Wild.
The Sabres won 6-5 in overtime.
Hamlin is on the long road to recovery after he went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati on Monday night. He is now breathing on his own and briefly addressed the Bills team by video on Friday.
The Sabres and Bills are both owned by Terry and Kim Pegula, and the teams’ players have developed a bond and friendships for one another through that connection.
Fans throughout the crowd held up signs saying “DH3” with a heart in it or “Love For Damar” and were shown on the video board showing support for Hamlin. The pregame celebration saw the crowd, with many wearing Bills jerseys, rise to their feet, applauding and cheering for Hamlin.
The Sabres also paid tribute to Hamlin before Tuesday’s game in Washington wearing T-shirts saying “Love For 3” upon arrival at Capital One Arena.
The Bills host the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in the regular season finale.
As for the Sabres game, Rasmus Dahlin had two goals and three assists, Victor Olofsson also scored twice — including the winner with 18.3 seconds left in overtime — as Buffalo won.
Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens also scored for the Sabres, who have won eight of their last nine. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had 39 saves.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota, and Brandon Duhaime, Kirill Kaprizov and Marcus Foligno also scored. Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 31 saves as the Wild snapped a three-game win streak.