Sabres three-game win streak snapped in wild game in Florida
“You Over-officious Jerk”
The Buffalo Sabres 3-2 loss to Florida got rather heated at times, including the incident between troublemaker Nick Cousins and Jordan Greenway, but things boiled over in the third period with Buffalo trailing by only a goal when rookie Zach Benson was called for tripping Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola. Head coach Don Granato lost his cool at the officials and was called for a bench minor.
Former Sabre Brandon Montour scored the eventual game-winner on the two-man advantage.
“What I watched transpiring in that game, from one minute before the incident giving Greenway a double-minor, Cousins goes into Greenway,” Granato said. “(Peyton) Krebs was taking punches.to the head, with no call whatsoever…..at some point, you’ve got to stand up for your team.”
Johnson Benched
Erik Johnson has been the focus of some trade speculation, but the 35-year-old blueliner may not be helping his market value with his recent play. Johnson was -3 in a 4-3 loss to Anaheim last week in which the Ducks had only 14 shots on goal and against the Panthers, after mistakenly deflecting Matthew Tkachuk’s shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen late in the first period, the veteran did not play another shift in the contest. He ended with a season-low 3:31 in ice time in the game.
Slip Sliding Away
Despite the Sabres improved play of late, the loss to Florida has them 11 points behind Tampa Bay for the last wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo may have been hoping to maintain at least a mathematical chance of climbing back into the playoff race, but with just nine days to go until the NHL trade deadline, that appears to be wishful thinking.
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