Ex-Sabres prominent in Vancouver and Florida taking control of their second-round series
The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs continues to highlight former members of the Buffalo Sabres for their respective clubs. In the Florida Panthers 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Sunday, a pair of ex-Sabres assisted on all three Panthers markers to sweep the pair of weekend road games, giving Florida a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Evan Rodrigues had a big part in the rally from a 2-0 first-period deficit, with a primary assist on Anton Lundell’s goal and another helper on Sam Bennett’s controversial tying tally. Florida took the lead for good midway through the third, as former Buffalo team captain Kyle Okposo assisted on Aleksander Barkov’s game-winner.
Sam Reinhart had three shots on goal in 14:27 and took a big hit from Boston’s Charlie McAvoy, but missed most of the third period with a severe cut. According to David Dwork of the Hockey News, the former Sabre is expected to be in the lineup for the Panthers for Game 5 on Tuesday.
In the Vancouver 4-3 win over Edmonton in Game 3, former Calder Trophy winner Tyler Myers and Evander Kane each had assists, but it was once again big blueliner Nikita Zadorov who garnered the most attention. The former Sabres first-rounder was penalized late in the second period for firing Kane into the Edmonton bench and was also part of the tag team of Oilers star Connor McDavid at the end of the game. McDavid slashed at Canucks defenseman Carson Soucy after the buzzer, Zadorov cross-checked McDavid from behind and Soucy did the same up high to the Oilers captain.
Zadorov was fined $5,000 by the NHL and Soucy has a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for the incident, but the Canucks retook home-ice advantage and lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 going on Tuesday.
Other Ex-Sabres on Sunday:
Dmitri Kulikov (FLA) 11:54 TOI, -1
Brandon Montour (FLA) 21:17 TOI, 3 SOG
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