It was a bad call. I’ll agree with that. Rasmus Ristolainen had his stick knocked out of his hands, and he never wrapped his arm around Brad Marchand. However, it was the culmination of a horrid shift for Ristolainen, who gave the puck away twice on the three-on-three. It’s not what we’ve become used to from the Sabres’ top defenseman.
None-the-less, the ref decided to call the penalty shot, and Marchand beat Robin Lehner easily on the breakaway as the Bruins defeated the Sabres 2-1 in the shootout. Lehner understandably gave the ref his trademark crazy eyes, and even threw his mask onto the ice.
@JeremyWGR @RealJackEdwards you missed Lehner Jer pic.twitter.com/NfEVLclocq
— The Lehner Race (@INHL94) February 7, 2016
Lehner: “Honestly if I say something now, I’m gonna get in…, it wasn’t even a penalty, that was… oh my god, embarrassing”
— Brian Koziol (@BrianWGR) February 7, 2016
Dan Bylsma didn’t look so pleased either, especially since the same situation happened with Jamie McGinn earlier in the game with no penalty shot called. It’s the second game in a row that the Sabres have lost to Boston in extra time.
Sam Reinhart scored the Sabres only game of the night, as he was given room on the side of the net to backhand a rebound past Tuukka Rask. It’s his 14th goal of the season and it is looking like he’ll pass the 20 goal plateau in his first full NHL season. He’s clearly the most improved player on this year’s team, and at this point shouldn’t be overshadowed.
His goal tied the game, as Loui Eriksson opened the scoring in the first with a tic-tac-toe goal that led to a wide-open net.
Lehner had a nice night and continues to look like a No. 1 goaltender. He made 36 saves, including this incredible one.
So, It was a bad call and it cost the Sabres the game, but we’ll get over it. We’ve experienced worse, right?
The Sabres have a few days off before playing Florida on Tuesday.