Buffalo Sabres
3 Major Reasons Sabres Lost Versus Panthers
The Buffalo Sabres got lured into the prototypical Florida Panthers game and fell victim to them, 5-2. The Sabres skated with the Panthers, traded chances with the Panthers, and matched the Panthers’ aggression, but were the more undisciplined team. The game was a microcosm of why the Sabres are not ready to compete with the top teams in the league just yet.
The Sabres carried play for half of the first period before the Panthers’ Jesper Boqvist scored. Sam Reinhart followed it up with a powerplay goal less than a minute later and Buffalo found themselves chasing the game all of a sudden.
Jason Zucker scored his second powerplay goal in two games in the second period and Rasmus Dahlin tied it less than two minutes later. A late-period defensive blunder allowed Carter Verhaeghe to regain the lead for Florida heading into the third.
Things got chippy in the third period and Dahlin got caught up in it, taking an unnecessary roughing penalty that resulted in a Sam Bennett powerplay goal. Aleksander Barkov capped things off in the last five minutes of the third to give him a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup.
Three major factors in the loss distinguished why the Panthers are where they are compared to the Sabres. The Sabres took too many penalties, had too many defensive lapses, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could not come up with the big save when called upon.
More:Â Scouting Sabres Opponents: Barkov Back for Panthers Presents Challenge
Sabres Penalties
Dahlin’s glove punch to the face of a Panthers player resulted in the fourth Florida goal, which was the demoralizer in an otherwise close game. He got caught in the heat of the moment, as the Panthers were agitating their way into getting under Buffalo’s skin.
It’s a strategy that Florida is known for, and the Sabres have to be better.
Connor Clifton also cost Buffalo on a bad cross-check, and the Sabres took six minor penalties to gift one of the NHL’s best powerplays four opportunities.
Defensive Positioning
Breaking down each Panthers goal, the Sabres were caught out of position with bad coverage decisions on nearly all of them. Bowen Byram was caught in no man’s land in the offensive zone and it gave Boqvist and Anton Lundell a two-on-one.
Reinhart’s powerplay goal was a great pass by Barkov, but Dahlin skated behind the net to leave Reinhart in front. Three Sabres, including the trailing Tage Thompson, skated to the Panthers’ puck carrier, Matthew Tkachuk, and left Verhaeghe alone in front.
Bennett and Barkov’s goals were byproducts of the Sabres giving them too much time and space. Although you’d like a save on both, the Panthers are too talented to leave them with that much time to make a play.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
The goaltending wasn’t a problem this season until the last couple of games. Buffalo outscored Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s issues against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, but couldn’t bail him out against Florida.
In fact, they did the opposite.
“Our goalie has been good for us,” head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. “He wasn’t the guy that got caught up ice.”
Ruff was vocally and visibly miffed after the game, alluding to the defensive breakdowns and mistakes. Despite all of that, the Sabres needed one or two more saves from Luukkonen at the right time to keep the Panthers from breaking the game open like they did.
With games on Friday and Saturday, Luukkonen will likely split the weekend with Devon Levi. It will be Levi’s first chance to bounce back after a bad performance as well, so the Sabres will need to see improvement and consistency in their goaltending to feel better about the young tandem.
For the Florida Panthers’ point of view on the game, head over to Florida Hockey Now.