It’s Thursday and while it might not exactly be “must see TV,” the Panthers face the Buffalo Sabres (13-16-4) tonight for the final time this season. This particular night of the week has been pretty kind to the Cats in 2013, as they have managed to compile a 4-3-1 record, including last week’s 3-1 road win over the New York Rangers.
The Panthers have collected 3 out of a possible 4 points in their first two meetings with the Sabres. Florida posted a 4-3 win in Buffalo back on February 3rd, while the Sabres took the last meeting here in Sunrise 4-3, exactly one month ago, thanks to shootout goals from Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville.
Despite cooling off a bit after a blistering start, Vanek leads the Sabres offense with 33 points and is among the league’s top ten lamplighters with 16 goals in just 29 games.
Buffalo fell 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last outing, which snapped a three-game winning streak. They will be looking to avoid another loss to a team sitting below them in the standings as they desperately try to remain in the playoff chase.
A key for the Panthers tonight will be to get their comatose power play working against Buffalo’s PK, which has been pretty giving of late.
Game time from the BB&T Center is 7:30 PM. If you like your wings Buffalo-style check out the gang at Die By The Blade. The LBC GameThread pours it’s own brand of hot sauce at 7.