[FH] Carnet des Sabres : Connor Clifton se relève après la gaffe d’Anaheim pour connaître un autre match solide

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1. Spiritual_Bourbon 10 mois ago

   https://archive.ph/ueBWy

   > « You try to have a short memory, good or bad. You put you best foot forward and try to have a good shift next, » Clifton said. « That being said, it, obviously, ruins your sleep . … You feel like you’re terrible. But I watched the game, and if I take that one play out of it, I didn’t play half bad. »

   > Clifton’s ice time went from 15:08 in Anaheim to 19:36 the next night in Los Angeles, and he was plus-2 in the Sabres’ 5-3 victory while playing a strong game with partner Ryan Johnson. They’ll be together again Saturday afternoon when the Sabres play in San Jose.

   > Rookie goalie Devon Levi struggled in the first period as Buffalo fell into the two-goal hole but he was solid over the final 40 minutes. And his teammates kept pushing, forging a big rally to produce a 5-3 win over the turnover-riddled Kings.

   > « We were structurally sound. We were playing good, playing together, the entire team, » Clifton said. « And it was fun to watch when we play that type of game. Some of our early games, you could sense the frustration on the bench, and we’d kind of start feeling sorry for ourselves. There wasn’t any of that when we got behind (3-1 after the first period). We played a great second. »

   > Clifton had two assists and was minus-8 through November. In December and January, he has nine assists and is plus-13 while playing just over 17 minutes per game. He made a huge play Wednesday, sweeping a loose puck off the goal line behind Devon Levi early in the second period that could have put Buffalo in a 4-1 hole.

   > « He liked it, because it saved a goal, » Clifton said of Levi. « I didn’t like it, because I could have just killed the first pass. I’m playing the 2-on-1, and I let that pass go through for the wide open net. So, I better stop it on the second chance and help (Levi) out. »

   ### Lineup news

   – Veteran defenseman Erik Johnson returned to practice Friday, but won’t play Saturday
   – Zemgus Girgensons and Mattias Samuelsson (both upper body) sat out practice and also will sit out Saturday.
   – The Sabres are likely to go back to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in goal.