Rodrigues fuels comeback, but Sabres fall to Blues in OT

ST. LOUIS -Coming into their game against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday evening, the Buffalo Sabres eyed an opportunity to head home from their three-game road trip having taken five out of six available points. Thanks to an overtime goal from Vladimir Tarasenko, they'll have to settle for four.
Evan Rodrigues scored a pair of third-period goals to bring the Sabres back from a 2-0 deficit, the latter of which tied the game with 1:27 remaining in regulation, but Tarasenko scored with 36 seconds left in overtime to clinch a 3-2 win for the Blues.
The loss concludes a road trip that began with a win in Colorado on Tuesday, followed by an overtime loss in Chicago on Friday. "Respect" was the key word used by players and coach Phil Housley alike when evaluating this game, and it was what differentiated their slow start from their strong finish.

"I think in the first couple [periods] we gave them a little too much respect," Rodrigues said. "Obviously they're a good team, but we let them make plays and we let them have the puck. I think in the third we played a little bit more free and knew we had to take it to them. We had nothing to lose, and I think that's when we played our best."

The Blues entered the game boasting one of the NHL's top records, and it didn't take them long to establish themselves. Brayden Schenn was the benefactor of a net-front pass through traffic and scored into an open cage to give St. Louis its first lead just 40 seconds into the game.
The Sabres went on to be outshot 16-7 in that first period, and while they did pick their game up for stretches in the second, Paul Stastny caught a carom off the end boards and scored to extend the St. Louis lead to two prior to the second intermission.
Rodrigues said the focus during intermission was on simply getting one goal to cut the deficit in half. Instead he scored two, his first and second of the season, marking the first multi-goal effort of his young career.
His first goal came on the power play, with the Sabres leading a 4-on-2 rush up the ice. Rodrigues passed the puck to Jack Eichel and broke for the edge of the net. Eichel drew two defenders and passed to Evander Kane, who in turn found Rodrigues alone at the back door.

The Sabres pushed aggressively for the remainder of the third period, but wouldn't tie the game until after they pulled goalie Robin Lehner with less than two minutes to play. Once again, it was Rodrigues who found open ice to take a shot while Ryan O'Reilly and Zemgus Girgensons battled at the net front.

"He's got a good nose to where to be in the right positon at the right time," Housley said. "The puck, sometimes in games, follows you. It was following him tonight. He has some good speed, he has really good lateral movement and he gets into those areas to score. It was good to see him get on the board."
The Sabres carried the tie into the final minute of overtime for the second time in as many games. Tarasenko's goal was the product of miscommunication in the defensive zone, with Eichel allowing the Blues forward to pass as he carried the puck down the right wing with the expectation that Kane would be providing help behind him.
Tarasenko drove to the net alone, and as Lehner attempted a poke check, his shot went in off the goaltender's stick.
"I think Tarasenko had a lot of chances today," Lehner said. "He's obviously a skilled player. I didn't want him to get a shot off so I did a poke check maybe a second too early. It went off my stick and went in. But he's a hell of a player, hell of a shot so I just wanted to take that away."
The Sabres were frustrated by the result - Eichel said he felt like they should have taken all six points on the road trip - but there was promise to be found in the manner with which they came back. Facing one of the NHL's best teams, the Sabres played both fast and physical with their defensemen joining in on the attack.
It was, Housley said, a good example of the way they've been trying to play all year long.
"I think it shows that this team can compete with the best of them," Rodrigues said. "That's a good squad that was opposing us tonight. Once we started playing our game and not just letting them free wheel, we stuck right with them and took it to them. We've got to try and do that from the get-go."

Lehner stays busy

With a 42-save effort, Lehner concluded the road trip having faced 133 combined shots in three games. You wouldn't know it by watching him play on Sunday, as the goaltender was once again a calming and consistent presence in net for the Sabres.

"I feel a little bumps and bruises here and there," Lehner said. "But I'm just trying to keep building on my game. It was four big points out of six, even though we lost two overtimes. We're trying to take it a step at a time in the right direction. We've just got to keep working."

Up next

The Sabres will return home to host the Ottawa Senators for the first time this season on Tuesday night. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 6:30 p.m. with GMC Gamenight, or you can listen to the game live on WGR 550. Puck drop is slated for just after 7.