The Olympic break is right around the corner for the Buffalo Sabres, but they are facing an important stretch of games with three in the next four nights, starting with a road game against the Florida Panthers. Entering this game, the Sabres were trying to put behind them the loss to the Montreal Canadiens over the weekend, where they gave up a third-period lead to lose 4-2.
It was a slow start for the Sabres in this one, and it looked like they could be facing their first back-to-back regulation losses since the beginning of December. The Panthers would score two goals in the first six minutes of the game, but the Sabres would bounce back to tie it at two before the end of the first period.
Both teams would trade goals in the second period, but a power play goal in the third period was the deciding factor. The Sabres would take a 4-3 lead off Jason Zucker's goal and add a goal by Josh Doan to win 5-3.
These are some of the top takeaways from the Panthers' game ahead of their game tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Buffalo Sabres bounce back from ugly start
The Buffalo Sabres were hoping to put the loss to the Montreal Canadiens behind them and get off to a fast start against the Florida Panthers. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way as they gave up a goal just 37 seconds into the game when Sandis Vilmanis beat Alex Lyon.
However, the Panthers weren't done there as Evan Rodrigues would extend their lead to two a little over five minutes after the first goal. The Panthers had a great chance to add to their lead but Lyon came up with an excellent save on Cole Schwindt.
That save proved to be crucial as it allowed the Buffalo Sabres to get back into this game after Tage Thompson made a beautiful move to rip a one-timer from the slot to get the Sabres on the board. It wasn't long after this goal that Rasmus Dahlin was able to find Peyton Krebs far post to tie the game up.
In a game that felt like it was going to get away from the Sabres early, it was great to see them be able to settle down on the road against a veteran team like Florida to get back in it.
Alex Lyon with timely saves that kept the Sabres in this game
Alex Lyon was playing against his former team on Monday night and was a big reason they made the playoffs back in 2021-22. In this game, his former team got the better of him early with the two goals, but Lyon settled in and made big saves at key points in the game to help Buffalo come away with the win.
It started in the first period when Lyon made the save on Schwindt but the key sequence came in the second period on the Panthers' first power play of the game. He was excellent during this stretch and kept it tied at two.
The ability of Lyon to keep the Panthers from scoring helped set the Sabres up for their third goal and their first lead of the game. As that power play was expiring, the Sabres sent the puck down the ice that forced Sergei Bobrovsky to come out and play it. However, Ryan McLeod coming out of the box was able to beat him to the puck and find Zach Benson for the wide-open goal.
Lyon was tested in this game and was a big reason for the win as he finished the game with 39 saves on 42 shots.
Rasmus Dahlin extends his point streak to five games
Later this week, Rasmus Dahlin will be heading over to Milan to play in the Olympics as part of Team Sweden. He will be entering the Olympics playing some of the best hockey of the season, as he was able to extend his point streak to five games after two assists in the first period.
Dahlin had the secondary assist on Tage Thompson's goal, followed by the primary assist on Krebs' goal. He now has 10 points in total over this five-game streak with four goals and six assists.
Zach Benson absence could be big loss for the Buffalo Sabres
In the third period, the Buffalo Sabres saw Zach Benson take a hard spill into the boards after being tripped up by Sergei Bobrovsky. It was clear that the injury was serious as he was unable to get up and was favoring his shoulder or left arm.
The Sabres were able to take the lead shortly after the injury when the Panthers were called for hooking. Buffalo converted the power play opportunity with Jason Zucker scoring the goal.
Later in the period, Benson did try to return, but he quickly made the decision that he could not continue and came off the ice. The fact that he was able to at least try to return could be a good sign that this is not a serious injury, but with the Olympic break right around the corner, it might be wise to give him the next few games off.
If the injury is serious and he does miss an extended period of time, it will be a big loss for this group. He has primarily been playing on the top line with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch and has been very effective. Over the past six games, he has had two goals and two assists, including a goal in this game against the Panthers.
Buffalo Sabres penalty kill comes up big late in the third period
The Buffalo Sabres' penalty kill was one of the best groups in the league early in the season, but have given up some power-play goals as of late, including one in this game against the Panthers. However, when the team needed the penalty kill unit to step up, they did late in the third period.
With about eight minutes left in the period, Rasmus Dahlin would be called for tripping on Estu Luostarinen. Unfortunately, about 45 seconds into the power play, Bo Byram would be called for slashing to give the Panthers a 5-on-3 chance for about a minute.
However, the Panthers couldn't capitalize on the 5-on-3 or the power play after Dahlin's penalty expired. It was an excellent stretch of hockey from this group that helped them hold the lead and secure the win.