The Buffalo Sabres only had three power play opportunities Saturday night against the Rangers, but those power plays proved to be extra dangerous as the Rangers managed to get two shorthanded goals on their way to a 4-1 victory. This was the second time this season the Sabres have given up two shorthanded goals in a game, the first came on October 14th against the Hurricanes. The Sabres have now also given up five shorthanded goals on the season, all of them being scored on home ice.
Rookie Carl Hagelin was the star for the Rangers, scoring two goals on the night. His first of the game came in the second period as he sniped a shot over Jhonas Enroth’s glove with two seconds left on the Sabres powerplay. A minute later, Thomas Vanek scored the lone Sabres goal as he rifled a slap shot that squirted between Martin Biron’s legs.
From there, the Rangers took over the game offensively, as Ryan Callahan scored the Rangers second shorthanded goal of the night with 1:09 left in the period. The third period saw Hagelin score his second goal of the night three minutes into the period and Marian Gaborik putting away any notion of a Sabres comeback with a goal with three minutes left on the clock.
Jhonas Enroth took the loss for this game and didn’t look spectacular doing it either. Two goals that he allowed were of the questionable variety, with one goal just slipping under his pads and crossing the line. Enroth made 29 saves in the loss and now has an 8-6-1 record with a 2.43 goals against average and .922 save percentage. Martin Biron extended his record against the Sabres to 9-3-1 and had 32 saves in the win.
– The Derek Roy, Drew Stafford, Tyler Ennis line had some good chances for the Sabres and accounted for 14 of the team’s 33 shots on the night. But, they also missed on some golden opportunities including a 2 on 1 breakaway which saw Derek Roy saucer pass the puck right over the top of Ennis’ stick.
– Luke Adam had a hot and cold night for himself, creating some fantastic scoring chances while also giving up some fantastic giveaways. Adam’s final stat line was two shots on goal, 4 shots blocked, 1 shot missed, a hit, a giveaway and a takeaway.
– With Paul Gaustad out of the lineup, Derek Roy and Paul Szczechura took half of the Sabres 28 faceoff opportunities with each going 6 for 14 in the faceoff dot. In the three games that Gaustad has been out, the Sabres have won less than 50% of their faceoffs, going 45% against Philadelphia, 49% against Florida, and 48% against the Rangers.
The Sabres continue their five game homestand against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night.