Sabres let point slip away in SO loss to Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -Earning every point possible is crucial for the Buffalo Sabres at this point of the season when they are trying to make up ground in the playoff race against conference and divisional opponents.
In the third period of Tuesday night's game against the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center, the Sabres rallied back from a two-goal deficit to take the lead. But a late goal helped the Panthers forced overtime, which led to Florida winning 4-3 in the shootout on a historic night for Jaromir Jagr.
The Panthers' 44-year-old wing had three assists on the night, tying him with Mark Messier for second on the NHL's all-time scoring list with 1,887.

Buffalo fell behind 2-0 before they were able to get on the board when Sam Reinhart deflected in a point shot from Rasmus Ristolainen on the power play with 4:15 remaining in the second period. Then 1:10 later, the Panthers' lead was erased when Evander Kane knocked home a loose puck to make it 2-2.
The Sabres took the lead with 7:41 remaining in the third period when Ristolainen scored his third of the season. However, with 3:51 left in regulation, the Panthers struck again when Nick Bjugstad put home a shot to tie it up.
"I look at it as we gave away a point because it's our own fault," goaltender Robin Lehner said. "We're down 2-0 there. They came out really hard, we couldn't really match it and then we battled back. It got us back to a point where we should have been and we get to 3-2. It's small details in this league and that's what happened."
Both Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov (who ended his night with a goal and two assists) scored in the shootout. Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo, Buffalo's shooters, couldn't covert. Lehner is now 0-3 in the shootout this season while Roberto Luongo tied Terry Sawchuk for fifth all-time with his 447th career win.
"I need to keep working on them," Lehner said of the shootouts. "The first one there, it caught me a little off-guard. And Barkov's a good shooter. What can I say?"
The Sabres are now 1-5 in shootouts this year.
"Keep trying and keep working at 'em," Bylsma said of how they can try to improve Lehner's performances in the shootout. "We keep practicing them a different way, focus a different way, mindset a different way and it's what we've got to keep doing."
The Sabres now have 32 points on the season through 31 games, but they've now lost back-to-back games in the shootout against teams in the chase as well. The dropped a 2-1 decision in Carolina on Saturday.
"We need every point we can possibly get in this battle," Bylsma said. "We gave up one tonight and we gave up one to a team we're below in the standings. But at the same time, we've got to keep fighting and clawing and scratching to add points to our column."

Another slow start

Barkov opened the scoring with 3:51 remaining in the first period when he walked into the slot for his scoring chance. His shot was kicked back to him by Robin Lehner and as Barkov followed through on the play, he banked it in from behind the net off Lehner's left skate.
Buffalo has entered the second period down 1-0 in each of their past four games. Against the Panthers, they were outshot 16-4 in the first.
"The first period, it wasn't what we planned. It wasn't the way we wanted to play. It was all them and we didn't have much there," Ristolainen said. "The second period was a little better."
Buffalo found themselves down by a pair in the second when a point shot by Keith Yandle found its way through traffic and past Lehner for a power-play goal.
Before Buffalo broke through for the two goals, they had their share of chances including two opportunities on the power play to open the period. They ended up unloading 17 shots in the second period to the Panthers' 11, showing a much stronger offensive presence.

Other notes

Ristolainen has 15 points in his last 13 games and is tied for sixth in the League with 13 power-play points. With a goal and an assist, he logged his team-best sixth multi-point game. He has now assisted on 31.3 percent of his teammates' goals. Only Erik Karlsson and Connor McDavid have higher percentages in that regard.
Kane has 9 points (6+3) in his last 10 games and 16 points (11+5) in his last 15 against Florida.
Three of Reinhart's seven goals this season have come on the power play.

Up next

The Sabres are scheduled to regroup for practice on Wednesday. They play host to Carolina on Thursday as their run against Eastern Conference opponents continues.
"Right now, it's frustrating. I'm not going to lie," Reinhart said. "The thing I do like is no matter where we are in our game, we can produce enough offense now where we can put ourselves back in that game."