By Jourdon LaBarber – Sabres.com (@JourdonLaBarber)
By the time Dylan Larkin scored to break a scoreless tie, it seemed like a bad case of déjà vu for the Buffalo Sabres. They had just killed off a four-minute penalty when Larkin struck for a third-period goal, giving the Detroit Red Wings a lead they never relinquished on Friday night.
Marcus Foligno entered the box for high-sticking 7:19 into the third period, Larkin scored the game-winner just 42 seconds after his exit and the Red Wings added two more to hand the Sabres a 3-0 loss at First Niagara Center.
The scene was reminiscent of the Sabres’ loss in Colorado on Wednesday, when they killed a double-minor assessed to Evander Kane in the third period but allowed the Avalanche to tie the game 31 seconds afterward.
In both situations, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma expected the long penalty kills to swing the momentum in his team’s favor. Once again, it had the exact opposite effect on Friday.
“I thought we did a great job with that kill,” Bylsma said. “I thought we were going to kill that off, ride that momentum and come back and score one the other way. Literally, before you can get the next shift over with, that’s when they got the game-winning goal.”
Henrik Zetterberg netted a goal with 2:51 remaining on an assist from Larkin and Luke Glendening added an empty-netter for the Red Wings. Goaltender Petr Mrazek made 19 saves to improve to 3-1-0 against the Sabres this season.
Buffalo was outshot 45-19 in the loss, including an 18-2 shot differential in the third period.
“I don’t know what it was,” Sabres defenseman Mike Weber said. “We didn’t play the smart game that we’ve been playing for a stretch of games. It’s unfortunate. We’ve had some pretty good success here with our three-game series, winning two out of three and not losing back-to-back games. This puts us back behind the eight ball a little bit.”
ANOTHER STRONG NIGHT FROM LEHNER
Aside from late goal stemming from a double minor, the other glaring similarity between each of Buffalo’s last two losses has been the outstanding play in net from Robin Lehner. The goaltender made 42 saves in his fourth start of the season and kept the Sabres in it for most of the night.
“He was outstanding,” Bylsma said. “Numerous opportunities and several big saves … He was pretty strong the whole night. The penalty kill, he was a big part of that as well.”
While Lehner impressed again with saves like the one he made on Justin Abdelkader – a right-pad save on a one-timer from point-blank range – the goaltender is still searching for the one stat that has eluded him in his young season: a win. The support simply hasn’t been there to get him one.
“I felt good again and I’ll try to keep building, it just sucks losing,” Lehner said. “I don’t like losing and I think it’s a fine line in this League. You can stay in games but to win them, you’ve got to play a certain way, you’ve got to buy in and we’ve got to play as a team.”
MORE PK PROFICIENCY
The goal that came shortly after doesn’t change the fact that Buffalo’s penalty kill continued its extreme efficiency on Friday, extending the team’s streak to six games without allowing a power-play goal. Their 4-for-4 night makes the Sabres 19-for-19 in that span, including kills on double minors in three-straight games.
“Our best killer again is our goaltending, our forwards did a great job of up-ice pressure and we’ve been able to clear second chances and when we’ve had chances to get the puck down we’ve been able to get it 200 feet,” Weber said. “We’ve been getting kills at crucial times of games but it’s five or 10 seconds after the kill where we haven’t had success.”
MAYDAY’S MOMENT OF THE GAME
“Robin Lehner: I love his angles, love his focus, I just want to see him get some goal support.” – Brad May, Sabres Studio Analyst
(Reprinted with permission of the Buffalo Sabres)
