KevinJames

Buffalo, NY • United States • 23 Years Old • Male

King Me! L.A. Wins In Shootout

Buffalo (30-12-6) at Los Angeles (27-19-3)

The Sabres and Kings met for the only time this season. Last time they met, Ryan Miller shutout Los Angeles in a 5-0 win.

The Sabres almost made quite a comeback in their last game against Anaheim. Buffalo quickly fell behind 4-0 in the first period with Patrick Lalime in net. The Sabres came out in the second, narrowing the deficit to just one goal. Buffalo was unable to complete the comeback as they lost 5-3.

The Kings got on the board first with a deflection from Brad Richardson that went into the net. Despite having the first seven shots on goal, the Sabres trailed 1-0 after the Richardson goal.

As the second period began, Buffalo would score quickly, tying the score at one. Clarke MacArthur scored his second goal in as many games on a wrist shot that deflected off of a Los Angeles stick.

On the power play, Thomas Vanek received a pass from Tim Connolly to put Buffalo up 2-1. There was a bit of controversy on the play since Vanek shoved Drew Doughty and ended up wide open in front of Jonathan Quick. With the assist on the play, Connolly extended his point streak to 14 games.

The Kings thought they had the game tied at two, but the goal was called back because it was hit in the net with a glove. On the next power play, the Kings would get their second goal of the game, and this one was not called back. Sean O'Donnell scored the goal with just under a minute remaining in the second period.

Captain Craig Rivet scored his first goal of the season on a pass from Jason Pominville. Buffalo took a 3-2 lead early in the third period. With Rivet's goal, Adam Mair remains the only Sabre who has yet to score this season.

Los Angeles would bounce back again. Ryan Smyth took advantage off a deflection in front of the net and put the puck in off of his skate to tie the game at three. That was all the scoring for regulation as the game headed to overtime.

Anze Kopitar and Drew Stafford each scored in the first round of the shootout. Jack Johnson and Jason Pominville were both stopped on their attempts. In the final round of the shootout Dustin Brown beat Miller, and the Sabres had to score. Tim Connolly had Quick beat, but was not able to get the backhand up high enough, and the Kings edged the Sabres 4-3.

Lindy Ruff stated that his goal was to earn ten points on the seven game road trip. With two games left on the trip, Buffalo needs to win both of them to achieve that goal.

Kevin "Road Trip" Freiheit

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