Sabres at Panthers Recap: Sabres Battle Back, Lose In Shootout

We’ll do tonight’s recap in a Three Up, Three Down style:

Three Up

• The Power Play – The Sabres cashed in with the man advantage for the fifth time in six games, finally finding some life in what was once the league’s worst power play.
• Andrej Sekera & Christian Ehrhoff – Sekera finished with a goal and a +1 rating in BLANK of ice time. His rock-solid two way game was missed during his injury, and his calming presence will help a Sabres blue line that could be very shorthanded a few days from now. Ehrhoff finished with six shots, leading the team in that category as well as ice time, as per usual.
• Drew Stafford – Stafford return was a solid effort for the much maligned winger. He scored a goal and an assist, while tallying five shots and over 21 minutes on the ice for his efforts. He may be auditioning for other teams at this point, but regardless of his future, it was nice to see a strong game from Staff.

Three Down

• The First Period – What is it with this team and slow starts? Tonight, the Sabres gave up the first goal just 3:28 in to the first period, and then proceeded to get just seven shots on net for the rest of the frame. This to go along with two penalties against, and more defensive gaffes from a beleaguered blue line.
• Tyler Myers – I hate to write it, but Myers had another sub-par game tonight. Though he earned an assist, he was totally lost on Florida’s first goal and had some very poor giveaways. He’s been much better in his own zone recently, so tonight was a step in the wrong direction. We’ll see if he can rebound against Washington.
• The Penalty Kill – The Sabres gave up two power play goals against on five chances for Florida. A 60% PK ain’t gonna cut it, even against the 30th place team in the NHL. It didn’t help that the Sabres took some unnecessary penalties, including another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which seem to be Buffalo’s penalty du jour these days.

Comment of the Game