The Buffalo Sabres have played the Florida Panthers three times this season and have been torched for 18 goals. In a trio of second periods against them, they have been outscored, 10-1. And they're far from alone in that kind of futility against the NHL's biggest offensive juggernaut.
At least during the regular season of 2021-22, the Panthers have become a litmus test of how far the Sabres have to go in the Atlantic Division. We'll see if that carries over to the playoffs, where the experience and guile of two-time defending champion Tampa Bay and Boston have taken those teams much farther than the Panthers.
Buffalo's season struggles against Florida started with a 7-4 defeat down south in December that saw the Sabres fritter away a 3-0 lead, and were accentuated by a 6-1 drubbing here in March. It looked more of the same Sunday as the Panthers erupted for three goals in a span of five minutes over the second and third periods to take charge of what was a 1-1 game.
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"They've got a real skilled team and the margin for error is really, really small. It's pretty much zero," Sabres winger Jeff Skinner said after Sunday's 5-3 loss in KeyBank Center. "They've got finishers on every line up front. That's why I say the margin for error is really small because you make one mistake, it doesn't matter who's out there for them, and they're gonna make you pay."
Full marks to the Sabres to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 4-3 game midway through the third period thanks to a pair of power-play goals. The Sabres even had one primo chance to tie the game but Panthers goalie Spencer Knight stopped Victor Olofsson on a slapper from the right circle.
Florida put the game away when gifted a 5-on-3 advantage in the final two minutes off an extremely weak hooking call on Mattias Samuelsson. It only took 21 seconds for Mackenzie Weegar to blast the game's final goal past Dustin Tokarski and send a good chunk of the announced crowd of 11,787 – third-largest of the season – to the exits prior to the horn.
Coming back from four down last week in Chicago was obviously impressive, but the Blackhawks just aren't any good seven years after their last Stanley Cup and do not have an NHL-caliber goaltender left after they traded Marc-Andre Fleury. Coming back from three down in the third against Florida would have been another level entirely for the Sabres, whose defense corps struggled mightily over the final two periods of this one.
After getting torched for 22 shots on goal in the middle period, coach Don Granato said he told his team he was happy the second period of the game wasn't the last one and they should be, too.
"We just in the entirety of the game, couldn't get the emotional energy," said Granato. "It was low. I give our guys credit for trying to find it and fight. But we just didn't have that jump, that zip that we've had."
The Sabres' energy tanks were low after the emotional celebration for broadcaster Rick Jeanneret on Friday night but it was good to see them summon a second wind in the third period. After their last big win, the March 13 Heritage Classic, Buffalo completely laid an egg in its next outing in Edmonton. That didn't happen here Sunday.
"We were fighting ourselves more than anything they did," Granato said. "Although I don't discredit they're a great hockey team. They've proven that. But it was a lot more we didn't do. I don't think they forced us into anything."
Sunday's win clinched a playoff berth for the Panthers, who will be going to the postseason for a third straight year for the first time in their history, which dates to 1993. While the Sabres have the NHL's longest playoff drought (since 2011), it's the Panthers who have the longest drought without a postseason series victory.
Florida hasn't won a playoff series since beating Pittsburgh in the 1996 Eastern Conference final to earn a spot opposite Colorado in their only Stanley Cup final. After getting swept in that series, Florida qualified for the playoffs only three times in the next 21 years.
So the Panthers know a thing or two about droughts. And their lack of postseason success might be the No. 1 reason to pick against them come May and June. But look at the offensive talent they have.
Jonathan Huberdeau, whose 73 assists are an NHL record for a left wing, scored a goal for his franchise-record 97th point. Anthony Duclair scored twice to push his total to 28. Top center Aleksander Barkov has 33 goals and 70 points. Sam Bennett has 26 goals and old friend Sam Reinhart has 24. They just added Claude Giroux from Philadelphia, too.
What's starting to happen in Florida is what you want to see the Sabres build. You can never predict a Stanley Cup because there's too many variables to get there. But you want to be in the mix every year. Think of how the Washington Capitals have won just one Cup with Alex Ovechkin (in 2018) but have been in the playoffs all but one year since 2008.
"There's a reason why they're averaging more than four goals a game," Kyle Okposo said of the Panthers. "Best offensive team in the league, and they have good players over there. You just have to give them an inch and they'll take it. So we just got a little loose there in a second. And they took advantage."
It's obviously encouraging to see how the Sabres have progressed against a difficult schedule. Sunday's loss was just their second regulation fail since March 1 (7-2-3) and Buffalo entered the day fifth in the NHL in points percentage since that date at .700. But here's some overall reality for you: The Sabres are 41 points behind the Panthers after the defeat and came into the day 23 points behind Washington for the final playoff position.
The road remains long. And their next five games? A home-and-home with Carolina, and roadies at Florida, Tampa Bay and Toronto. Oof.
"As a young group that's trying to build something here, these are important games for us," Okposo said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how we come out and how we play. ... As a young group, you want to keep pushing. You want to keep trying to win these games, because these are the games that playoff teams win."
