Top Notes
- Jason Pominville recorded an assist on Buffalo’s first goal, tying Mike Foligno for 10th-most assists (264) in Sabres history and tying Alexander Mogilny for 12th-most points (444) in Sabres history.
- Cody Hodgson tallied three points (1+2), matching his career high set Thursday at BOS (1+2).
- Thomas Vanek has points in each of the eight games he’s appeared in this season. Dating back to last season, Vanek has recorded 30 points (10+20) in his last 18 games.
- Marcus Foligno logged a career-high ice time of 21:46. His previous high was 18:21 at PHI (4/5/12).
- The Sabres have lost three consecutive home games for the first time since going 0-2-1 from Feb. 11 to Feb. 17, 2012. The team finished last season with an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 home games.
Top Quotes
Sabres forward Thomas Vanek:
On missed opportunities in the second period: “We started the game well, just like we talked about. We got the lead, got all the way to 3-1 and then played stupid, I guess. I think we did have some great chances, didn’t even hit the net on some of them and, again, I think we need to be smarter. At 3-1, we didn’t need to join every time, and that’s what cost us.”
On the team’s mentality in the second period: “I think we were in the game, we were just trying to, you know, we played like we were down 3-1, taking chances in the (offensive) zone and just not smart.”
On the team’s disappointment level: “It’s very high, you know? Coming off a good win in Boston and dropping two the way we lost two, it’s disappointing.”
Sabres forward Jason Pominville:
On the team’s defensive lapses: “I think it’s pushing, trying to push for more. When we turned it around last year, when we realized we dug ourselves into a hole and we needed to change things is when we were better with the puck and better defensively … When you lock down defensively, you’re a tough team to play against and when you push for more and when you sometimes don’t need it, you end up giving up opportunities and that’s what we did tonight.”
On Thomas Vanek’s hot start: “We’re going to keep working at trying to create offense, and I think Lindy is showing trust in our line. He’s sticking with us and obviously putting us out there a lot and giving us a lot of minutes but I think it falls on everyone to chip in in any way they can.”
Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller:
On playing in back-to-back games: “We had a back-to-back situation where we need to play smart and we got to a lead and that’s ideal. You just have to play smart from there and we had a couple of tough plays, and then we were in a hockey game. Then we have to grind it out, and the power play for them became the difference … It’s tough to get it going after you’ve played the night before and, you know, easy to start the game, hard to finish. You need to have that lead and you need to play under control. When you have to press its hard, they just make it difficult and its hard to recover.”
On whether or not the Sabres’ winger had time to get to Matthias on Florida’s first goal: “He got it off pretty quick. The idea is to pick up somebody and I probably need a little bit better jump, but it just happened.”
On one win in seven games: “It’s pretty obvious we didn’t take into consideration the lessons we learned last year. It’s pretty plain and simple. It’s one thing to try and open up the game, and it’s another to have control of the puck and have a system. Try and open it up, you’re going to get in trouble. Try and play risky, you’re going to get in trouble.”
Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell:
On early deficit: “We battle, you know? We’re starting to become a team more now and have faith in coming back. Earlier in the season we didn’t have a whole lot of faith and confidence but now we’re starting to see our team develop, and with a bunch of pieces back in the mix, it looks like we can do what we did last year and be successful.
On coming back to Buffalo: “I don’t play very good here a lot of times, I find. It’s weird, I remember the first time I came back I felt like I never played in this building in my life, just being on the opposite side. But definitely, it’s always fun. I love coming back here and I still have friends here and to score the game-winner is great in this building. I had a lot of good times here, and a lot of good memories.”
Panthers forward Peter Mueller:
On his goal: “Definitely wasn’t all me. [Tomas Kopecky] made a great play and [Drew Shore] did all the work. I mean, I was just fortunate to have my stick there at the time. Happy to get the goal, but more happy to get the win.”
On being able to come back from a two-goal deficit: “We’re building character, you’ve got to build something. You know, we strung a couple wins together, which was nice, but as a team were now 3-5. We’re still reaching up to .500 and the games over right now. Moving on to Winnipeg.”
On first road win: “Yeah, that feels good that’s for sure, to get that one out of the way and get a little more comfortable on the road. That’s always nice, but like I said, it’s good to get that one out of the way but it’s time to focus on Winnipeg now.”
Panthers forward George Parros:
On his overall play: “It’s always nice to score. I got a fortunate bounce there.”
On fight with Sabres forward John Scott: “It always might happen, you never know. But you know John’s obviously one of the toughest guys in the league, he’s huge and we had a good fight and that’s all it was.”
On Panthers’ efforts to come back multiple times: “I actually think we got scored on a couple times after, but you know wherever we can find some momentum I think is good. If I’m the cause of it then that’s awesome but just happy we could close out the win.”
On almost getting the Gordie Howe hat trick: “It would have been nice, but I’m not going to be too greedy. There were a couple that were out of my reach, I thought maybe if I had a pass off the pads in front but that didn’t happen either but, like I said, I’m not greedy and it was a good win tonight.”
