‘A lot of passion’: Sabres defeat Florida Panthers, 3-0, in game full of emotion
The Sabres harnessed the emotion of a showdown against the defending Stanley Cup champions and capitalized on it. The Sabres created a net-front presence, boosted by Josh Doan’s two goals.
The Buffalo Sabres could have crumbled under the weight of a game full of emotion against one of the NHL’s top teams.
But the Sabres weren’t intimidated, even after Florida Panthers left wing and noted NHL pest Brad Marchand took Rasmus Dahlin’s helmet hostage into the penalty box midway through the second period, ripped off the chin strap, then chucked the helmet onto the ice.
Instead, it energized the Sabres in a 3-0 win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday at KeyBank Center.
Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe tries to sneak a shot past Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon at KeyBank Center on Saturday.
Derek Gee, Buffalo News
The Sabres harnessed the emotion of a showdown against the defending Stanley Cup champions and capitalized on it. The Sabres created a net-front presence, boosted by Josh Doan’s two goals. The Sabres finished 7 for 7 on the penalty kill, including a kill of a tripping penalty called against Zach Benson nine seconds into the game. They played with a physical edge.
The Sabres showed coach Lindy Ruff what his team was capable of – and what the identity of this team, and this franchise, should be about.
“We fed off it,” Ruff said. “There was a lot of emotion in the game, a lot of passion. That, for me, it’s Sabres hockey. Passion. I thought there was passion, right from the start.”
Their intensity outlasted the frustration of a team that’s won the last two Stanley Cups but is operating without some of its star players due to injuries, including captain Matthew Tkachuk (adductor surgery) and Aleksander Barkov (ACL/MCL repair in right knee).
“They’re a team that, you’ve seen in the past, when they’re not winning or the game’s not going their way, they try to drag you kind of into that style, and that’s a game that’s kind of fun to play,” Doan said. “But when you’re in the lead, there’s no need to play to their advantage.”
The Sabres head into their third game in a six-game stretch against Atlantic Division opponents when they play at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Montreal.
What’s energized this team in the last two games after an 0-3 start?
“We tried really hard and worked hard to stay steady through those first three (games), and it didn’t go, for us,” said goalie Alex Lyon, who stopped 32 shots for his first shutout of the season and fifth of his NHL career. “In the same vein you have to continue to try to stay steady now. You have to keep an even mindset and not ride the ups and downs.”
The pivotal moment of steadiness came when a scrum broke out at the top of the slot in Florida’s zone midway through the second poerio. It happened after Dahlin cross-checked Marchand along the far boards, then seconds later hit Marchand in the top of the zone. Marchand landed on top of Dahlin after he hit the ice and threw a punch before Tage Thompson attempted to lift Marchand off his teammate.
Panthers left wing Brad Marchand takes Rasmus Dahlin’s helmet to the penalty box during the second period at KeyBank Center.
Derek Gee, Buffalo News
Thompson was called for roughing, and Marchand took penalties for roughing and interference at 10:40 … while also taking Dahlin’s helmet to the penalty box a few seconds later.
“He’s a competitor,” Dahlin said of Marchand, whose five-game points-scoring streak ended. “I’ve probably done something like that in the past, too.”
Dahlin, though, praised his team’s response to the fracas, and the Panthers’ continued attempts to get under the Sabres’ collective skin.
“The whole team (stayed) calm, and we played the right way for 60 minutes,” he said. “That’s how you win these type of games.”
What also helped the Sabres: They created traffic in front of the goal and Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (28 saves). Doan provided the most significant presence, giving the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 7:13 of the first on a power-play goal when Thompson’s shot from the top of the right circle bounced off Doan’s leg and past Bobrovsky.
Doan opened the lead to 2-0 at 11:12 of the second, with Marchand in the penalty box, tipping in a shot by Jason Zucker from the right circle past Bobrovsky’s stick side.
Owen Power scored his first goal of the season at 14:20 of the second, driving to the net to beat Bobrovsky on a pass from Alex Tuch.
“There’s chaos there,” Doan said of patrolling the territory in front of the net and the opposing goalie.
“You’re gonna take a cross-check here and there in games and not score. Then there’s going to be games where it just kind of hits you and goes in. It’s a great tradeoff but it’s a part of the game I enjoy and look forward to continuing.”
Officials try to break up a scrum in front of the Panthers net that started between Brad Marchand and Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin,
bottom, during the second period at KeyBank Center on Saturday. Derek Gee, Buffalo News