Sabres let 3rd-period lead slip away in loss to Panthers

For the first two periods of their game against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, the Buffalo Sabres were the better team by most statistical measures. Shots (23-20) and shot attempts (36-29) were in the Sabres' favor, and they carried a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
It slipped from their fingers in the first five minutes of the third. The Panthers strung together four unanswered goals, three of which came in a span of 4:42 to begin the final period, and won 5-2.
Phil Housley credited the Panthers with playing the simple game that the Sabres had set out to play on Tuesday morning, a style he thought his team deviated from as the game wore on. Although the damage was done in the third period, Housley said he began to see signs of slippage in the second.

"I'll give Florida credit, they kept the game simple," Housley said. "Every time they had an opportunity to get the puck in deep, they did. … They simplified their game. It really drew a lot of energy from us in the defensive zone in the second period."

The Sabres opened the third period with 1:09 remaining on their third penalty kill of the night after being successful on their first two attempt. Aleksander Barkov knotted the score with a deflection of a Keith Yandle shot 58 seconds into the period, snapping a streak of 20-straight kills for Buffalo.
From there, the game snowballed. Panthers forward Evgenii Dadonov did the heavy-lifting, forcing Rasmus Dahlin into a turnover at the blue and drawing a penalty shot on which he just barely beat Carter Hutton between the pads.
Dadonov created a rebound on a wrap-around that Frank Vatrano was able to bury 1:12 later, then added an empty-net goal from the neutral zone with 2:30 left in regulation.
"I think we just have to try and create more, try and spend more time in the O-zone," Sabres forward Jeff Skinner said. "I think in the early part of the third, they got out of their zone pretty quickly and pretty easily.
"I think we could have done a better job of sustaining a forecheck and maybe spending some more time in the O-zone, and that would sort of alleviate some of the defensive pressure we had on us late in the game."
Skinner and Rasmus Ristolainen scored goals for the Sabres, while Sam Reinhart tallied two assists to extend his career-best point streak to 11 games. Hutton made 31 saves.
The Sabres had chances to add to their 2-1 lead after Ristolainen and Florida's Troy Brouwer traded goals in the second, but they were stifled from that point on by a 30-save effort from veteran goalie Roberto Luongo.
"We had a lot of chances," Sabres captain Jack Eichel said. "Give him credit, he made some huge saves for them, kept them in the game at some big times. He gave them a chance to win and then, obviously, we weren't able to get that third goal. That's the tale of the tape."

Reinhart keeps going

In addition to his point streak - which is the longest by a Sabre this season and the second-longest active streak in the NHL - Reinhart now has 31 points (8+23) in in last 28 games. He's up to 34 (8+26) points in 35 games this season, and he's already surpassed his 82-game assist total (25) from last season.
Once again, he did the little things that lead to goals. His first assist began with a battle won behind the net, using his body to shield the puck from Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad before dishing to Eichel in the corner. The secondary assist was the 100th of Reinhart's career.

Reinhart retrieved a puck off a faceoff win in the offensive zone and quickly passed to Ristolainen for his second assist, watching the defenseman drive to the net and score short-side.

Reinhart's linemates stayed hot as well, as Skinner and Eichel both extended their point streaks to seven games. Skinner became just the second Sabre to score his 25th goal in the team's first 35 games of a season, joining Alexander Mogilny (34th team game in 1992-93).

Pominville leaves with injury

Jason Pominville left the ice and went straight to the dressing room after colliding with Ristolainen in the neutral zone with 14:00 remaining in the third period. Housley did not have an update on the forward's status after the game.

Up next

The Sabres visit Capital One Center for a rematch with the Washington Capitals on Friday night. The game will be nationally televised on NBCSN, with puck drop set for 7. You can also listen live on WGR 550.
The team returns to KeyBank Center for one last game ahead of the holiday break, against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night. Tickets are still available.https://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?orgid=1585&agency=SABRES&pid=8610986&utmsource=Web&utmmedium=RRail&utmcampaign=IGSab&utmcontent=Sabres