This summer, when the Sabres agreed to the one-year, $5 million contract awarded to Danny Briere by the NHL’s arbitrator, they made him the highest paid player on the Sabres’ roster. It was a lot for Briere to live up to, and the pressure caused him to struggle with scoring coming out of the gate. Since then, he has been worth every penny.

The diminutive Briere, who I’ve nicknamed “Mighty Mouse,” is generously listed in the Sabres media guide at 5’10” and 178 pounds, but he plays much bigger than that. Briere is not afraid to go into the corners to get a puck, or get physical behind the net in both zones. You rarely see Briere take a check, not because he’s afraid, but because opposing teams can’t hit what they can’t catch.

In the new NHL, Briere’s offensive skills and speed have been dazzling, and he is now the Sabres’ leading scorer. With the Sabres down two goals, Sunday, November 5 against the New York Rangers, Briere just took over.

In the first period, the Sabres were the first team to get on the board, when Thomas Vanek grabbed a pass from Brian Campbell behind the net and scored a nifty wrap-around goal past the surprised Rangers goalie, Kevin Weekes. The goal, Vanek’s eighth, was an even strength score, and the only goal of the first period.

Starting in the first period and continuing into the second, the Sabres had kept a steady stream of players going into the penalty box. At one point, the penalty minutes read a lopsided 14-2 for Buffalo. The Rangers used those power-plays to score three straight goals and take a 3-1 lead. At that point, the Rangers probably felt like they were cruising, but a two-goal lead is never safe when you’re playing a Danny Briere-led Sabres.

12:15 into the second period, the Sabres finally got their second power-play advantage. Sixty-nine seconds later, Briere slapped a one-timer feed from Chris Drury, top shelf where mama hides the cookies. After that, the Sabres stayed out of the penalty box, and were the far better team five-on-five.

Going into the third period, the Sabres were playing well, but still needed two goals to win, or at least one more goal to tie the game and give them a chance to win it in overtime or a shootout.

8:13 into the third, Briere took the Sabres to Pominville. Skating down the left wing of the ice, he grabbed the puck and started racing towards the net. He stopped hard right over the blue-line, and lobbed a shot at the Rangers’ goal. Weekes totally misplayed the puck, and laid it right out in front of his crease for Jason Pominville to shovel into the net. No more goals were scored in regulation, and the game went into overtime.

So far this year, the Sabres have been winning overtime games in shootouts, but Briere had something else in mind this time. 3:57 into the five-minute overtime period, Drew Stafford, the Sabres’ first round draft choice in 2004, making his NHL debut, took a pass from Briere, skated in over the blue-line, and centered the puck back to Briere. Briere, in a dazzling play, kicked the puck up to his stick and wristed a game-winning goal, top shelf once again, right by the right shoulder of Weekes.

The Sabres had done it again, this time with former leading scorer, Maxim Afinogenov, out with an upper body injury. They had just needed a spark, and they got it from their Five Million Dollar Man, Danny Briere, whose play said, “He will be that man. Better than he was before. Better…stronger…faster…”