Panthers at Sabres
THE STORY: The Buffalo Sabres opened a five-game homestand Wednesday, which for a struggling team would normally be the perfect tonic to begin building some momentum and shake off an inconsistent start to the season. But these aren't normal times for the Sabres, who have found victories rare to come by at First Niagara Center. Witness Wednesday's matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers, when the Sabres bolted to a 3-0 first-period lead only to squander it and eventually fall in overtime. It was the sixth loss in the last seven home games for Buffalo, which now faces the prospect of a grueling back-to-back starting with the Florida Panthers on Friday night. The Southeast Division-leading Panthers will arrive in Buffalo on a three-game winning streak and fresh off an impressive 2-0 victory over the red-hot Boston Bruins on Thursday night. The teams have split two meetings this season, with the road team winning each time.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSFL, MSG
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (16-8-4): Jose Theodore stole the show against the Bruins, making 40 saves to record his 32nd shutout in his 600th career game. Tomas Kopecky's game-winning tally broke a 12-game goalless drought. Newcomer Krys Barch, who was acquired from Dallas on Wednesday, made a loud introduction to his teammates by knocking Boston's Daniel Paille out of the game with a crunching hit on which he drew a charging penalty. RW Mikael Samuelsson played his first game since being acquired from Vancouver in October.
ABOUT THE SABRES (14-11-2): Buffalo will be without left wing Ville Leino, who was suspended one game for elbowing Philadelphia rookie Matt Read on Wednesday night. The Sabres' high-priced offseason acquisition had just started to find his offensive game with one goal and three assists in a three-game points streak. Rookie Zack Kassian had a goal and assist against the Flyers. He had three goals in six games since his promotion from Rochester of the American Hockey League. Captain Jason Pominville has 14 points in his last 14 games.
OVERTIME:
1. Sabres G Ryan Miller's only shutout of the season came at Florida on Oct. 20.
2. The Panthers are 0-2 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.