After Tuesday’s loss in Tampa and the swirling trade rumors, it could be easy to lose track of tonight’s Sabres game that falls in the category of must win. Buffalo takes on the Florida Panthers on the road in a game many would view as an easy win. Even though the Panthers are dead last in the East, Buffalo has struggled with beating teams below them, exemplified by Tuesday night’s disappointing 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay.
Despite the rough position of the Sabres, they are not mathematically eliminated, making each game drastically more important than the last. Previous to the Lightning game Buffalo had been on a bit of a hot streak, grabbing three games in a row. Yet, it seemed all progress was lost in Tampa Bay when the team was only able to muster a total of 14 shots, not the sign of a desperate team.
Still, tonight’s game is a perfect opportunity for Buffalo to pick up a vital two points. Florida has not been able to find any rhythm whatsoever this year and are currently riding a three game skid. That being said, Buffalo needs to come out with more of a jump in order to win, as they have seemed to let the supposed winnable games slide and have been able to pull out more difficult ones.
Much of Florida’s poor play can be attributed to an unusually cruel case of the injury bug. Key pieces such as Kris Versteeg, Scottie Upshall, Ed Jovanovski, Sean Bergenheim, Marcel Goc, Filip Kuba, and starting goalie Jose Theodore all have missed time and most are on injured reserve.
Buffalo has been quite the opposite this season fortunately, there have certainly been injuries and to key pieces such as Thomas Vanek, but they haven’t converged all at once like they did last year. The team looks a little lost, lacking a spark and some chemistry. Notable was the fact that there was no real momentum gained in the three game winning streak. Each game Buffalo looked flat but found ways to win, not once did the confidence pile up and they were able to take control of a game.
A player to watch for on the Buffalo side of things is Marcus Foligno. After a slow start, Foligno appears to be climbing back to where he was at the end of last season. While the points and production are slower to come back, his physical play and his work along the wall is noticeably improved.
In order to grab the two points tonight, Buffalo must clean up their defensive zone. Even during their winning streak there were stretches of time when they seemed to be unable to clear the zone and their team defense was lazy and inefficient. Outlet passes must be crisp and second opportunities must be taken away. Also, the constant line juggling during games doesn’t appear to be helping so look for the Sabres to roll more consistent lines. In essence, the Sabres need to play a possession game. They spend way too much time in their own zone and have very little offensive pressure.
The game is at 7:30 PM and will be aired on MSG.