BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jack Eichel played along. As a nurse from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center introduced him on opening night, synthetic crowd noise accompanied her call from the scoreboard.
Eichel burst out of the Sabres’ tunnel, sped to the blue line and waved …
To no one. The captain raised his arm, smiled and gave a nod to 19,070 empty seats, his attempt to create a bit of normalcy.
Buffalo’s first game since March, of course, was anything but normal.
The streets surrounding KeyBank Center were barren. No fans in royal blue jerseys. No cars honking the tune of “Let’s go, Buffalo.”
Aside from a couple of jacket- and toque-wearing security guards at the side entrances, there was no sign that the NHL had finally returned to town after a 311-day layoff.
A huge neon sign in the atrium, normally beckoning fans to buy a cold brew, failed to shine. One empty beer cooler in the 300 Level…
