Panthers at Sabres
The Florida Panthers produced one of their strongest performances of the season in the first game after the All-Star break and look to sweep a quick two-game road swing when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. The Panthers had dropped three straight before recording 40 shots on net and getting 32 saves from Harri Sateri for his first NHL win in Tuesday’s 4-1 triumph against the New York Islanders.
“No one’s waving the white flag here,” Florida coach Bob Boughner told reporters of his team that has a double-digit deficit to make up for a playoff position. “I’m going to scrape every point we can. (Tuesday) was a great start for that after the All-Star break.” The Panthers have won five of the last seven meetings, including a 4-1 victory Nov. 10, and hope to take advantage of a Sabres team that is tied for the least home wins in the league (six). Buffalo won three straight road games, allowing one goal combined, before the All-Star break and returned to start a stretch of nine in 11 contests on home ice Tuesday with a 3-1 loss to New Jersey. “That road trip, we were very loose and started with a fresh mindset,” Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly told reporters. “We had a job, and we did it. We get home and we’re overthinking things. We’re waiting for the game to happen.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Florida, MSG Buffalo
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (20-22-6): All-Star center Aleksander Barkov hopes to snap a four-game point drought in his 300th NHL contest Thursday and sits third on the team with 43 overall. Left wing Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 48 points, including eight goals and eight assists in his past 14 games, while center Vincent Trocheck generated nine of his 46 points in the last seven contests. Sateri, a 28-year-old former fourth-round pick of San Jose, will likely be back in net at Buffalo but Florida’s top two goalies Roberto Luongo (lower-body) and James Reimer (groin) could return to practice in the next week.
ABOUT THE SABRES (14-27-9): All-Star center Jack Eichel has been kept off the scoresheet in each of the past two games after compiling 14 of his team-high 49 points over the previous seven contests. Left wing Evander Kane, who could be on the move before the trade deadline at the end of February, is second on the team with 36 points but has not added to that total in the last six games and did not have a shot in Tuesday’s loss. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has raised his production level after a slow start to the season with 15 points in his last 20 games and a goal to go along with five assists in the past six contests.
OVERTIME
1. The Sabres have converted 10 of their 28 opportunities on the power play over the last nine games, moving to 26th in the league (16.2 percent).
2. Florida RW Evgenii Dadonov collected four goals in his last six contests to help increase his career-best total to 30 points.
3. Buffalo G Robin Lehner allowed two goals on 90 shots over his last three games and is 2-3-2 lifetime against the Panthers.