Panthers Fall To Sabres

Buffalo Sabres' Nathan Paetsch, right, blocks a shot by Florida Panthers' Gregory Campbell (11) as Sabres' goalie Ryan Miller (30) looks on in the first period of a hockey game in Sunrise, Fla., Friday, Oct. 26, 2007. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

By Dave Joseph for Floridapanthers.com

The Panthers fell back Friday evening into a familiar and very disconcerting routine.

After playing a solid 40 minutes against the Sabres – and coming off what GM and coach Jacques Martin called their “best game of the season” – the Panthers came apart in the third period, allowing three goals, including one shorthanded, to lose 4-2 at BankAtlantic Center.

The Panthers have had troubles this young season playing 60 full minutes of hockey, and they’ve had problems allowing goals in the final 20 minutes. So Friday’s third period turned out to be like Groundhog Day.

The Panthers have been outscored in the third period this season 15-4, and Friday night they were 0-for-7 on the power play.

“We’re not making the right decisions,” said Brett McLean, who then referred to Wednesday’s 4-3 victory over the Flyers. “We played 60 minutes against Philadelphia. If you want to be a playoff team, you’ve got to play like that every game."

After holding one goal leads twice during the game, the Panthers imploded in the third period. First, Jochen Hecht scored on a one-timer to tie the game at two with 11:35 remaining in the game. Minutes later, Drew Stafford got the game-winner on what appeared to be an innocent shot from the right wing. Unfortunately, the puck bounced off goalie Tomas Vokoun and ricochet high over the net before dropping behind the Panther goalie and into the net.

The final insult came with three minutes remaining and with the Panthers on the power play when Daniel Paille took the puck away from Cory Murphy and skated in alone on Vokoun. Paille beat Vokoun high to the short side.
Set. Game. Match.

Game Highlights
Starting Lineups
Panthers		Sabres
Jokinen	C	Connolly
Stumpel	LW	Hecht
Zednik	RW	Pominville
Bouwmeester	D	Lydman
Allen	D	Tallinder
Vokoun	G	Miller
Post-Game Video
Jacques Martin Nathan Horton Tomas Vokoun Mike Van Ryn Olli Jokinen Tribute
Quote of the Game
“We’re not making the right decisions. We played 60 minutes against Philadelphia. If you want to be a playoff team, you’ve got to play like that every game." - forward Brett McLean
Stat of the Game
The Panthers had seven power play opportunities on the night, but failed to convert on any of them.
3 Stars Presented by Szrio Jewelry
1. Jason Pominville 2. Ryan Miller 3. Daniel Paille

“Probably not,” Martin said. “The major factor was the specialty team. They got a power play goal and a shorthanded goal. That was the difference in the hockey game. We didn’t win enough battles in front of the net for rebounds. There were some loose pucks there. We got to be better.”

As for the power play, Martin said; “Not enough movement. Not enough pucks at the net.”

As they’ve done several times this season, the Panthers started quick. Just 1:45 into the game, Jozef Stumpel snapped a wrist shot past Ryan Miller for a 1-0 lead.

But the Sabres came back at 7:53 of the period when, with Gregory Campbell and Brett McLean sitting in the penalty box on tripping calls, Ales Kotalik beat Vokoun on a 5-on-3 advantage.

The Panthers ended the period, however, taking a 2-1 lead to the locker room when Ville Peltonen scored his second goal of the year when he stopped a Sabres’ clearing pass in the high slot and fired the puck past Ryan Miller.

The Panthers played a solid second period, but they couldn’t carry over into the third. Failing to get back to .500, the Panthers left South Florida immediately after the game and headed to Nashville where Saturday they’ll play the Predators.

Martin called Saturday’s contest a “crucial game.”