Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Luongo ties for fourth on NHL career wins list as Buffalo falls 4-1.
McCoshen’s goal sparks third period offensive barrage
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Entering Friday night’s 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres, the Florida Panthers rode a five-game losing streak. Potted with the holes of a leaky defense and speckled with an inconsistent penalty kill, the road to the bottom of the Eastern Conference was a treacherous one for Florida through the season’s first month.
The Panthers weren’t supposed to be in the conference’s cellar. Not after winning a division title two seasons ago. Not after last season’s disappointing disaster couldn’t even push the Panthers into last place.
Friday’s win in Buffalo gave the Panthers a rope to climb out of the hole.
Panthers defenseman Ian McCoshen netted the game-winning goal less than four minutes into the third period with a shot from the blue line to lift Florida. Aleksander Barkov pushed his way into Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner’s sight, opening up a shooting lane for McCoshen’s wrist shot.
It was McCoshen’s third goal of the season, tying him with Aaron Ekblad for the team lead among defensemen. McCoshen, a rookie, is generally regarded as a defensive defenseman.
Evgenii Dadonov also scored a goal for the Panthers, burying a rebound of Barkov’s shot with 13:08 remaining in the second period. It was the first time Florida’s top line scored since losing to Tampa Bay on Oct. 30, having gone scoreless the last three games.
Barkov and Vincent Trocheck each added empty-net goals to ice the game.
Sabres forward Kyle Okposo tipped in a shot from the point on a Buffalo
power play in the first period. It was the fourth time in the last five games that the Panthers have given up a power-play goal to their opponent.
The Panthers defense that allowed 48 shots on goal during a loss to Carolina on Tuesday was dramatically different on Friday night. Buffalo didn’t fire its 20th shot on goal until Friday’s third period. The Hurricanes did it in one period on Tuesday.
Instead, Florida controlled play for portions of Friday’s game, including a sequence in the second period while on the power play. Jonathan Huberdeau collected the puck down low and spun it toward the open area in front of the crease. But Dadonov couldn’t get his stick on it. Neither could a crashing Barkov. Lehner covered up for a sprawling save.
The Panthers had 15 shots on goal in the second period alone on Friday night.
The Sabres threats came Scouting report: The Panthers will play their third back-to-back of the season and first since facing the Penguins and Capitals on Oct. 20 and 21. For Florida, the game in New Jersey will end a three-game road trip that began with a loss Tuesday night in Carolina and continued with Friday’s game in Buffalo. The Panthers return home for one game against the Dallas Stars before hitting the road for three games in California. … The Panthers could opt to test goalie Roberto Luongo on a back-to-back for the first time this season. With Friday’s start in Buffalo, he started three consecutive games. New Jersey would make four. Or Florida could go with backup James Reimer for the first time since Luongo returned from a right-hand injury that forced him to miss six games. … The Devils were one of the league’s biggest surprises early on this season, jumping out to a 9-2-0 start. Since then, New Jersey has lost four straight games, including two in overtime or a shootout. Forward Taylor Hall leads the Devils with 17 points (five goals and 12 assists). few and far between. But Luongo came up big in the third period, making a huge save on Sam Reinhart that kept the game tied.
With the win, goalie Roberto Luongo passed Curtis Joseph for sole possession of fourth place on the all-time wins list. Luongo now has 455 victories.
Through the Panthers’ first month under new coach Bob Boughner, the losses have come in a variety of ways.
They’ve masked themselves in decent performances against the two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. They’ve come in debacles against Tampa Bay and Columbus that saw Florida allow 15 total goals. They’ve even come despite Herculean efforts from their stars (like a 10-point effort from the top line against the Lightning) and their goaltenders (like Roberto Luongo’s 45-save game against the Hurricanes).
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Boughner said before Friday’s game.
The first two games of the Panthers’ current road trip looked to be the vaccine for whatever ailed Florida. Carolina lost four straight games before playing the Panthers. Florida was the only team in the Eastern Conference with fewer points than Buffalo. The Panthers collected two points in the two games. They play New Jersey on Saturday night.
A loss on Friday night would have tied the longest losing streak from a season ago for the Panthers, a sixgame skid down the stretch of last year.
“We’re just really looking for that one game to get us back on track,” Boughner said. “I believe it’s going to happen. So do the guys.”