Buffalo-Florida: Sabres De-Claw Panthers in 3-2 Shoot-Out Win

Teams with great road records in the NHL don’t play a flashy game in their opponent's rinks. They dump the puck in, prevent the enemy skaters from getting momentum in the neutral zone, keep the game close, and take advantage of any mistakes.

The Buffalo Sabres are getting better (but they're still not perfect) at playing this type of game, as evidenced by their 3-2 shoot-out victory over the Florida Panthers.  

Buffalo started poorly and the Panthers had the best of play for the first 10 minutes. But the Sabres began to get their legs under them, generating several good scoring chances.  

But with less than four minutes left in the first, Henrik Tallinder tried to keep the puck in the zone, but it bounced by him.  The Panther's leading scorer, David Booth, pounced on it and raced Toni Lydman for the Buffalo goal.  

That is a race Lydman cannot win, and he made a desperate dive, up-ending Booth as he bore in on Miller.  The referee awarded Booth the rare penalty shot.

Miller's style in playing the penalty shot is to skate far out in front of the net, cutting down the shooter's angle, backing in as the shooter approaches. If he times it right, Miller arrives at the top of crease at the same time as the shooter, well positioned to either poke-check the puck, or utilize his backward momentum to move laterally.

On this attempt, he either backed in too quickly, or Booth approached him more slowly than he expected. As a result, he was too deep in the net as Booth approached.  

He attempted to poke-check but Booth was too far away.  Now stationary and out of position, Miller could not counter when Booth went wide to his forehand and fired the puck into the open net. And so the Panthers led 1-0 after the first period.

Play in the second period was spotty, with neither team able to sustain any pressure. The Sabres drew a Panther penalty at 11:16, but in the ensuing two minutes failed to get a shot, never establishing control in the Panther zone.

With two minutes left, Vanek, Connolly, and Stafford moved into the Panther zone and the puck ended up in a scrum of players out front. Just as the Panther defenseman Greg Campbell went to clear it, Connolly whacked Campbell's stick, sending the puck towards the net.  

It ricocheted off the other Panther d-man Karlis Skrastin's skate and over the goal-line. Amazingly, the Sabres had tied the score 1-1 on the most unlikely play. Put the puck in front of the net and good things happen.

It was the Panthers who faltered as the third period started, with their All-Star defenseman Bouwmeester taking two successive penalties in the first four minutes. The Sabres' power play began to move the puck more effectively.  

Finally, Toni Lydman put a high wrister on net that Vokoun could not corral. The puck dropped to the ice, contested by Vanek and three Panthers. Somehow, he got some carbon-graphite on it, and the puck slid into the net for Vanek's 28th goal.  

The Sabres led 2-1 and tried to put their clamps on the game, taking no offensive chances and changing lines frequently. They managed to work the clock down to just three and a half minutes left in the game and there was hope they could hold on for victory in regulation.

But Richard Zednik checked Derek Roy behind the Buffalo net, stealing the puck and passing it out front to an unguarded Nathan Horton. Miller had no chance as Horton fired in the game-tying score.

Trying to atone for his giveaway, Roy staged a great rush with just a minute left in the game, but the horn blew with the scored tied 2-2.

The Sabres played more aggressively in overtime, taking advantage of the four on four to have their defensemen join in the attack. But the Panthers earned the best chance to win the game when Booth took control of the puck and raced for the net.

Booth was chased by rookie Sabre defenseman Chris Butler. Somehow, Butler was able to keep up with Booth and prevented a shot without drawing a penalty.  

But Booth regained the puck and passed it out to his line-mate Jassen Cullimore who fired from point blank range at the wide-open Sabre goal. Miller dove to his right, extending his glove above his body, somehow blocking the gimme, and making the save of game.

And so for the third time in their last six games, the Sabres entered a shoot-out.  Unlike last year, where Miller had a pedestrian 4-7 record in shootouts, stopping just 57.5 percent of attempts, the Sabre goalie has been stellar this year with a 5-1 record and 78.3 percent success rate.

Tonight was no exception. Miller appeared to tempt the first Panther shooter, Nathan Horton, with a wide-open five-hole to shoot at. When Horton took the bait, Miller shut the door.

At the other end, Sabre shooters have also been impressive. Lindy Ruff likes to put Kotalik out first, and the Czech has earned a higher rate of return than money in the bank with his backhand move, firing the puck into the top of the net for a 1-0 lead.

The second Panther shooter was David Booth, the Panther's leading scorer and the best player on the ice for the first sixty-five minutes. Booth had easily beaten Miller on his penalty shot in the first period, but Miler earned sweet redemption, denying Booth's deke.

Derek Roy skated in on Vokoun. A score would win the game. Roy attempted the same move he had saved the game with in the previous shoot-out against Dallas, but the puck rolled off his stick as he shifted from forehand to backhand.  

Amazingly, as Vokoun moved to cover Roy, his legs opened and the puck slid through for the clinching goal.  Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

Another big win for the Sabres, getting their road trip off to a good start, giving them a three point lead over Florida and Pittsburgh, and bringing them within four points of sixth place Philadelphia.

Notes

Thomas Vanek's goal was the big Sabre winger's first in six games, his longest drought of the season.  It would be nice for him to get hot on this road trip.

Nathan Paetsch took the injured Teppo Numminen's spot but played just 8:32.  

In addition to defending Booth's overtime one-on-one rush, Chris Butler played a solid 23:34.  

Craig Rivet logged 26:54 and played one of his best games, calming things down in the defensive zone, and using his body effectively.