WASHINGTON — Dan Pastuf knew he wanted to wear a Buffalo Bills jersey to Tuesday night’s game between the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. He scanned the half-dozen he owns: Jim Kelly’s No. 12. Thurman Thomas’s No. 34. Andre Reed’s No 83. Josh Allen’s No. 17. Stefon Diggs’s No. 14.
“The classics,” he calls them.
And then Pastuf spotted his other Bills jersey, tucked away in the back of his closet. He hadn’t worn it in a while, but he knew immediately it was the right one for the moment.
E.J. Manuel’s No. 3.
Pastuf took tape to cover Manuel’s name and wrote in “Hamlin,” in honor of Damar Hamlin, who wears No. 3 for the Bills nowadays. He remains in critical condition after collapsing on the field Monday night in Cincinnati. And he was on the minds of everyone in CapitalOne Arena on Tuesday night.
The Capitals paused before the game to offer what the team billed as a moment of support. The arena lights dimmed, and Hamlin’s photo appeared on the large scoreboard over the ice. Wes Johnson, the public address announcer, said: “Please join the Washington Capitals, the Buffalo Sabres, the Buffalo Bills and the entire sports community as we send our thoughts, prayers and best wishes to Damar and his family.”
The crowd was respectfully quiet at first, thinking of it as a moment of silence. Then light applause began, and then came more. Moments of silence are traditionally offered for those who have passed. This wasn’t that, so the slowly building wash of applause seemed entirely appropriate.
That the crowd didn’t know exactly how to respond was appropriate, too. The horror of what we all saw on the field on Monday night is still fresh. Sabres fans in the arena appreciated the show of respect.
“I’m really glad they did that,” Colleen Bowman said. “We needed that.”
She grew up in West Seneca and came to the game in her No. 9 Jack Eichel jersey. She is working on a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Maryland.
“It was a nice tribute,” Gregg Deinhart said. “That was a cool response.”
He played tennis at Williamsville South and moved to northern Virginia the day after the Bills lost the last of their four Super Bowls, following the 1993 season. Today he and another Buffalo expat run FirstServe Tennis in the Washington region. It provides tennis programs for municipalities and schools, among others. Stephan Schlagenhauff is his business partner.
“It feels good to see how connected the sports world is,” Schlagenhauff said of the Caps’ moment of support. “It was a nice tribute across geography and across sports. It made me feel like we are all in this together.”
That was the message of a homemade sign pressed against the rinkside glass by a Caps fan: “Tonight … We are all Bills fans.”
Bill O’Brian, who grew up in Kenmore and lives in Arlington, Va., has been a Sabres fan since the franchise was born, in 1970, when he was a student at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute.
“I thought the moment of reflection was respectful, poignant and appropriate,” he said. “The murmur of applause built up to a respectful applause. I thought they handled it just right.”
Sabres fans went home happy after Tage Thompson scored a hat trick, culminating with the game-winner in overtime. “Thompson is a treat to watch,” O’Brian said. “He’s the Josh Allen of hockey right now.”
The Sabres pointed out on Twitter that Thompson’s three goals came on Jan. 3 and gave him three hat tricks and 30 goals on the season. “This one was for you, Damar,” the tweet said.
As was the No. 3 worn by Dan Pastuf. He is an engineer for Raytheon who majored in aerospace engineering at the University at Buffalo and grew up in Pulaski, north of Syracuse. Several people stopped him at the arena to comment approvingly on his No. 3. One was a woman who tapped him on the shoulder.
“That was hard to see,” she told him of Hamlin’s collapse. “I really hope he pulls through.”
