Storylines
1. Revisiting Saturday night
The Sabres fired 21 shots on Panthers goalie Vitek Vanecek but came up empty, losing 4-0 in their third shutout of the season – and first since Nov. 30.
“We weren’t able to get inside enough and get those opportunities, and when we did get those opportunities, we weren’t able to capitalize,” Tuch said. “I hit a couple posts, and I’ve got to put those in the net. And I know we had a couple good opportunities on the power play and a couple good odd-man rushes that we have to capitalize on.”
“We didn’t advantage of some of the plays we made,” added coach Lindy Ruff. “… We had the opportunities to stay right in the game.”
Vanecek, who was making his Florida debut, added to an impressive track record against Buffalo; in 14 appearances, he’s posted a .921 save percentage and 2.21 goals-against average.
The Sabres are looking for stronger defense and goaltending to help snap this latest winless streak. In the six games, they’ve been outscored 29-14 – an average of 4.8 goals against per game.
2. The new guys
Ruff said “it’s not fair to judge a guy” a day after being traded and traveling to join his new team on a whim. That said, center Josh Norris made a solid first impression a day after the Sabres acquired him from Ottawa.
The 25-year-old ranked third among Buffalo Sabres with 20:27 of ice time – including 2:48 on the power play and 0:42 shorthanded – and won eight of 15 faceoffs. Norris skated primarily on the top line with Tage Thompson and Tuch.
“Coming to a new team, it’s always gonna be tough, no matter what,” Tuch said. “Playing in a new system, playing with new guys, it takes a second for you to (get) acclimated, and I think he’s gonna have a really bright future here. And it’s gonna be exciting to see.”
Josh Dunne, recalled from Rochester while a few players deal with illness, made his Sabres debut as well. He skated 7:16, delivered four hits and fought Florida’s A.J. Greer during a third-period scrum.
“I thought, offensively, (he) was in on some opportunities,” Ruff said. “Had a couple good shifts … for a first game, not knowing a lot about him but hearing how well he played (in Rochester), I thought Dunne did a great job.”
It marked the first NHL action since April 11, 2023 for Dunne, whom the Sabres signed as a free agent last July. The 6-foot-4 forward has totaled eight goals and 16 assists in 54 games with the Amerks this season.
3. Scouting the Oilers
In Buffalo’s January loss at Rogers Place, the Sabres led 2-1 on goals from Tuch and Kulich before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice to give Edmonton the win. James Reimer started in net for the Sabres and tied a season high with 31 saves.
The Oilers (78 points) went 3-6-1 in the 10 games following that matchup, but they’ve stabilized with a 3-1-0 record in March and remain within striking distance of Vegas for the Pacific Division’s top spot.
Leon Draisaitl has paced the league with 46 goals – nine shy of his career high – and ranks second with 95 points. Connor McDavid, meanwhile, is riding a seven-game point streak, with two goals and eight assists during that span.
Edmonton’s major deadline move was acquiring defenseman Jake Walman from the Sharks. He was plus-three with an assist, three shots and three blocks in 24:40 of ice time in his Oilers debut Saturday, a 5-4 win over Dallas.
Defenseman Mattias Ekholm has missed consecutive games due to an undisclosed injury, and newly acquired forward Trent Frederic (lower body) remains unavailable.
