The Sabres once again found out that playing 2/3 of a complete game was not enough to win. Buffalo was dominated by Boston in the second period, putting only 3 shots on net, and couldn't get back on track, losing in overtime 2-1 on a deflection goal by Patrice Bergeron. This was a game that Buffalo should not have lost, as Boston had just played an overtime game against Atlanta last night, and the Sabres saw Toni Lydman return to the lineup in place of Reggie Sekera.
The Sabres came out with fire, out-shooting Boston 8-4 in the first and throwing their bodies around to set the tone. It paid off on the power play when Paul Gaustad tipped home a shot from Jason Pominville, who just seconds earlier had made a great hustle play to keep the puck in the zone. Buffalo had to be feeling pretty good about themselves going into the first intermission, but played like a completely different team in the second.
Aside from the abysmal 3 shots on goal, the team could not recover from early back-to-back penalties by Roy and Lydman. After successfully killing off both penalties, the Sabres seemed to forget that they were no longer on the penalty kill, as it was rush after rush for Boston, and nothing but dump-and-changes for Buffalo until they finally showed some fire in the last 5 minutes. To top it all off, a bad decision by Butler halfway though the period led to an odd man rush and a goal by Milan Lucic, his first since returning from injury.
The third period saw more life from the Sabres, with the line of Kennedy-Gaustad-Kaleta getting some good chances. Despite their efforts, 15 shots on goal led only to overtime, where the you-could-see-it-coming deflection by Bergeron on a wrister from Chara sunk the Sabres.
Once again Miller (24 saves) and Gaustad (1 goal, second star) were the two best players on the ice for Buffalo. The coaching staff needs to find a way to get some other offensive guys going in order to rebound quickly from this mini-losing streak. Buffalo travels to Ottawa tomorrow to take on the Senators and try to get back on track with a win. Feel free to vent in the comments.