Bogosian question mark as Sabres host Senators (Feb 04, 2017)
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres were unable to recapture their overtime magic on Thursday, but they came awfully close in a thrilling 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers.
The Sabres (20-20-10) will look to get back on track at home against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Just before the All-Star break, the Sabres rattled off three overtime wins in a row. Against the Rangers, Buffalo forced overtime on Cody Franson's goal with 5:31 remaining in regulation.
The Sabres had two quality chances in the extra session -- Henrik Lundqvist extended his pads to rob Kyle Okposo on a 2-on-1 and Evander Kane put a hard shot off the post one minute later -- before ultimately falling on Chris Kreider's game-winner.
The Sabres had 37 shots while goalie Robin Lehner made 42 saves for Buffalo.
"I thought we did a lot of good things," Franson said. "I thought this was a pretty good bounce-back game for us."
One question mark heading into Saturday's game against the Senators is the status of defenseman Zach Bogosian, who was injured with 4:40 remaining in the first period after taking a hit to the boards by rookie Jimmy Vesey and did not return.
It was yet another setback to Buffalo's defense, which has been saddled with injuries and setbacks all season.
"It definitely plays a part, especially when it's a guy like Bogo," Franson said. "Bogo's been a horse for us. He's played very well."
Ottawa (27-16-6) is coming off a a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Mark Stone had two goals and Erik Karlsson had three assists in the victory.
"We wanted to get back to our defensive game and we came in against a very offensive team and gave up 21 shots," Senators head coach Guy Boucher said, according to the team's website. "To me that was the main thing. We got offense on top of that and we wanted to play 60 minutes and we did so that makes me happy. And Erik was just unbelievable."
On the season, Karlsson has a team-best 44 points (8 goals, 36 assists) in 49 games.
The win over the Lightning was a special one in particular for Boucher. It was his first game in Tampa since he was let go by the Lightning on March 24, 2013. He coached the team for four seasons (2010-13).
"Well, it was great to come back here, an organization that gave me a lot, me and my family," Boucher said, according to the team's website. "It was a good day."
The Sabres have held a small edge over the Senators this season. Buffalo has won two of three games (a 2-1 victory on Nov. 5 and a 5-4 win on Nov. 29) while falling in a shootout at home on Nov. 9.
