(WGR 550) – After having a good rebound game on Thursday, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime, the Buffalo Sabres are right back at it on Friday in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers.
Buffalo had the lead against Tampa Bay, but you know you’re gong to get a push from a team like that and the Sabres got it, but even when a 5-3 lead became 5-5, the Sabres didn’t lose their composure.
Even when Henri Jokiharju got called for delay of game when a puck went over the glass and the Sabres had to go into overtime shorthanded against the third best power play in the NHL, Mattias Samuelsson came up with a big blocked shot and Eric Comrie made four huge saves on one-timers from Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov.
The Sabres won on Thursday because they played as one. They were fast in transition up the ice and they were good in pressuring Tampa Bay in the offensive zone.
Buffalo has lost both games to the Panthers, but this is the first time the two teams have played in Florida. The Sabres are 1-6-2 in their last nine games in Sunrise, but before Thursday’s win, the Sabres had been 0-6-1 in Tampa.
Buffalo is now 15-3-2 in its last 20 road games and has won three in a row since losing to the Los Angeles Kings.
Buffalo has won three out of four games overall, which has them in the eighth and final playoff spot by points percentage.
No word on who will be in goal, but since Craig Anderson played 47 minutes on Tuesday and Comrie played on Thursday, I would guess that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen would go. Luukkonen played very well in San Jose making 33 saves on 35 shots, but he along with his teammates weren’t sharp against Toronto and Luukkonen was pulled after 12 minutes giving up four goals on 10 shots.
Buffalo did allow five goals in Tampa and have given up 11 goals in two games. In their last seven games, they’ve only given up less than five goals twice.
Tage Thompson’s hat trick in Tampa gives him a career high 39 goals which is third in the NHL. He trails David Pastrnak by three goals and Connor McDavid by seven.
Florida is 3-3-0 in its last six games. The Panthers power play hasn’t helped them as in their last seven games, they’re 1-for-20. The Panthers have also had trouble killing penalties in their last four games too.
The Panthers haven’t gotten the goaltending this season that they had hoped for as Sergei Bobrovsky is 17-15-2 with a 3.12 goals against and .902 save percentage.
Matthew Tkachuk has been everything the Panthers had hoped he would be when they acquired him from the Calgary Flames. In 57 games, the All-Star winger has 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points. That ranks him fifth in league scoring. Carter Verhaeghe is their leading goal scorer with 30.
Former Sabre Brandon Montour actually has more points than another former Sabre, Sam Reinhart. Montour, who is a defenseman has 10 goals and 38 assists for 48 points while Reinhart has 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points.
Injuries will keep the Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov and winger Sam Bennett out of the lineup. Anthony Duclair is returning from injury to play his first game of the season.
Florida claimed Casey Fitzgerald off waivers from the Sabres on Jan. 11 and has just had him sitting and watching. He has yet to play a game for them.
Join the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST.
Losi & Gangi
