There wasn’t much scoring in this one, but it didn’t matter. The Sabres kept it close, but gave up two third period goals and lost in Philadelphia by a 2-1 score.
The Sabres needed just one point to stay alive in the playoff race, but Matt Read’s game-winning goal with under five minutes to play sank the Sabres.
“I have to win that one-on-one,” Regehr said. “I end up getting beat and cost us the hockey game. That was the difference.”
Buffalo couldn’t put any pressure on the Flyers after that, even with Ryan Miller pulled. Combined with a Washington win over Florida, the Sabres were eliminated.
“It’s embarrassing,” Miller said after the loss.
Ryan Miller finished the night with 33 of 35 saves, but it wasn’t enough. Miller was left out to dry on Read’s winning goal, which turned out to be the dagger in Buffalo’s season. At the other end, Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 25 of s6 shots on the night.
Tonight’s defeat made it the first time the Sabres have lost a game in regulation when leading after two periods of play. They are now 25-1-2.
The Sabres will close out the regular season in Saturday when they visit Boston to take on the Bruins. That game is scheduled for 4 p.m.