Here’s how today’s game went, with the Kings losing 4-2 to Buffalo.
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THIRD PERIOD
In goal: It’s still Bernier vs. Miller.
Sabres 4, Kings 1: The Sabres regained their three-goal lead with a power-play goal 3:58 into the first period. Bernier made a stop but the puck stayed in the crease area, where Drew Stafford knocked it in. Gerbe and Derek Roy got assists.
Sabres 4, Kings 2: The Kings scored their second goal with 4:14 remaining, as Kopitar scored his third goal in two games. Justin Williams made a brilliant diagonal pass to Kopitar, who took the puck in the slot, went from forehand to backhand and beat Miller to make it a 4-2 game. Simon Gagne also got an assist.
SECOND PERIOD
In goal: It’s still Bernier vs. Miller.
Sabres 1, Kings 0: The Sabres broke the scoreless tie 2:40 into the second period. Jason Pominville, behind the net, centered the puck to Luke Adam, who turned and fired from the inside of the left circle. Bernier got a piece of the puck with his pads, but it got through and over the line. Thomas Vanek also got an assist.
Sabres 2, Kings 0: Adam scored his second goal, 2:20 after his first, as the Sabres took a two-goal lead. The Kings won a defensive-zone faceoff, but Jack Johnson lost the puck behind the net after a Buffalo forecheck. After a scramble in front of the Kings’ net, Adam skated in and shot the loose puck into the net, exactly five minutes into the second period. Vanek got an assist on the play.
Sabres 3, Kings 0: Buffalo continued its big period as Paul Gaustad scored to give the Sabres a 3-0 lead with 6:41 remaining. Nathan Gerbe had trouble controlling a rolling puck near the right boards, then blindly flipped it toward the net. Gaustad, unmarked about six feet from the net, tipped the puck and the deflection beat Bernier.
Sabres 3, Kings 1: The Kings got on the scoreboard with 39 seconds remaining in the second period, with a power-play goal. Johnson took the puck down low, then fed it to Anze Kopitar in the high slot. Kopitar’s one-timer beat Miller to cut Buffalo’s lead to 3-1. Drew Doughty also got an assist.
End of period: Shots were 13-10 in favor of the Sabres in the period. The Kings went 1-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
FIRST PERIOD
In goal: It’s the Kings’ Jonathan Bernier against the Sabres’ Ryan Miller.
End of period: Shots were 12-9 in favor of the Kings, but the speed, aggressive Sabres carried the play for much of the period. The Kings went 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and will be on the power play for the first 1:07 of the second period. The German crowd is even more pro-Sabres than the Swedish crowd was pro-Rangers last night. The Sabres have two German players and a couple more from nearby countries.
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