Buffalo's Rasmus Ristolainen goes between-the-legs for the score and ridiculous celebration as the hottest team in the NHL wins again
- After slogging to a league-worst 25-45-12 record last year, the Buffalo Sabres have taken the NHL by storm to start this season.
- After a 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night, the Sabres pulled ahead with the best record in the NHL and tied a franchise record by winning 10 straight games.
- Buffalo defender Rasmus Ristolainen set the pace for the evening by going between-the-legs to embarrass San Jose's Brent Burns.
- He followed up the goal with a creative celebration that had fans debating whether it was the best or worst of the season.
The Buffalo Sabres are no longer the joke of the NHL.
With a 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night, the Sabres capped a 10-game winning streak to tie a franchise record previously set in January 1984 and October 2006. They also lead the NHL with a 17-6-2 record and have taken everyone by surprise with their recent success.
Perhaps even more enthralling than Buffalo's rapid rise to the top is the flair with which its top players are doing so. Sabres left wing Jeff Skinner currently sits in a three-way tie to lead the league with 19 goals on the season, 18 of which he has scored in Buffalo's last 18 games.
Skinner scored the game-winner with 1:41 left in overtime Tuesday night, but it was the Sabres' Rasmus Ristolainen who stole the show with a Sports Center top-10 finish.
Nearly 15 minutes into the second period, teammate Tage Thompson connected with the Finnish defender across the ice on the left wing. Ristolainen maneuvered the puck between his legs and blew past Sharks defender Brent Burns en route to the first goal of the game and his third of the season.
The goal landed at No. 1 on Sports Center's Top-10 plays of the day, but it was Ristolainen's stick celebration that got fans buzzing on social media.
Despite his silly celebration, Ristolainen got serious for a moment during his postgame comments. The NHL dedicated the night to fighting cancer and raising awareness, so the crafty defender dedicated his goal to his late grandfather who passed away last year.