BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Sabres traded for rugged winger Josh Doan with the goal of being harder to play against, heavier on the forecheck, meticulous on the backcheck. Of late, Doan has made the Sabres much easier to watch, checking more and more boxes on the scoresheet.
The third-year forward acquired from Utah in the trade for JJ Peterka this past offseason, Doan scored his first two goals for Buffalo in a 3-0 victory against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday, after assisting on three goals in Wednesday night’s 8-4 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Alex Lyon made 32 saves in his fifth NHL shutout and first with the Sabres, and Owen Power scored his first goal of the season in a victory that restored Buffalo’s record to 2-3-0 with a single goal differential after getting outscored 10-2 in three consecutive losses to start the season.
‘That’s Sabres hockey right there’
Combing for 52 hits and 40 penalty minutes in a feisty face-off with a division rival seeking its first road win of the season, the Sabres played with a vigor that pleased coach Lindy Ruff.
“There was a lot of emotion in the game, a lot of passion,” Ruff said. “For me, that’s Sabres hockey right there, passion.”
Passion with the right amount of discretion aided the Sabres at another point.
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin and top scoring forward Tage Thompson scuffled with Florida’s Brad Marchand in the second period, compelling the Panthers pest to bring Dahlin’s helmet along with him to serve roughing and interference penalties. Marchand tore off the chin strap while he sat on the box.
“Whoever gets the most angry is usually the one that gets the penalty,” said Dahlin, who borrowed teammate Peyton Krebs’ helmet for the power play. “So you got to stay calm in those moments. Usually, he’s really good at that. But I won the little battle today.”
Special sauce
Both of Doan’s goals came on power plays, as the Sabres have now scored five times with the man advantage over the past two games after starting the season 0 for 11.
Positioned near the front of the net, Doan deflected shots by Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (28 saves).
Doan said he “thrives in the chaos” at net-front and Ruff indicated that “we’ve just seen a glimpse of his game.”
Buffalo’s penalty kill unit continued to thrive, shutting down the Panthers on seven power plays totaling close to 12 minutes. The Sabres have allowed one goal against 23 power plays this season for a penalty kill success rate above 95%.
Lyon’s share
Lyon made several nice saves early on during penalty kills in beating one of his former team and his 32 saves were the most he’s made among five NHL shutout wins.
Buffalo’s starter in every game this season with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen out injured, Lyon has stopped 30 or more shots each out and boasts a .928 save percentage with a 2.43 goals-against average.
Up next
Buffalo visits Montreal on Monday before returning home to host Patrick Kane and the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
***
Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.