BUFFALO – In the Sabres’ 5-4 shootout loss Thursday in Florida, winger Ville Leino’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with 40 seconds left in the first period led to the Panthers’ second goal.
When Leino left the penalty box, it was his last time on the ice. Rolston benched him the final 45 minutes.
“We’re a team. We play as a team,” interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston said Friday inside the Northtown Center. “It’s not about egos. It’s not about individual players. It’s about us as a team, and we have to do things together.”
What did Leino say to the official?
“You need to have parental guidance, explicit lyrics,” he joked. “It wasn’t too bad. It got a little upsetting, no disrespect. … It wasn’t anything too harsh. I crossed the line. Some refs would’ve maybe given a penalty, some don’t. I kind of walked the line there.”
Rolston said Leino’s benching won’t seep into tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals inside the First Niagara Center.