Sunrise, Fla. (WGR 550) - In terms of the Eastern Conference Wild Card race, a couple of huge points went to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. They were able to beat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1, at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
The Sabres thought they had opened the scoring mere minutes into the game, but an Alex Tuch goal was overturned after a Panthers offsides challenge was successful.
Minutes later, though, on a power play opportunity, the blue and gold broke the ice for real thanks to Dylan Cozens.
Cozens' goal was his 29th of the season, as he inched closer to his first-career 30-goal campaign in the NHL.
Florida answered back on a man advantage of their own just short of seven minutes later. A broken play off a shot by defenseman Aaron Ekblad beat Sabres goalie Devon Levi to even the score in a penalty-filled first period.
The game wouldn't see its next goal until the opening minute of the third period, and it stood as the game-winning tally when the dust settled.
Former Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour's point shot was deflected in behind Levi by forward Matthew Tkachuk, as he netted his 39th goal of the season.
From there, Florida clamped down on the blue and gold, and even withstood some late penalty calls against. The Sabres boasted 6-on-4 and 6-on-3 man advantages inside the last minute of regulation, but were unable to find the equalizer against Panthers goalie Alex Lyon and company.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 8:58 - Dylan Cozens (29) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson)
FLA: 15:47 - Aaron Ekblad (13) PPG (Brandon Montour, Aleksander Barkov)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
FLA: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
FLA: 0:59 - Matthew Tkachuk (39) (Brandon Montour, Anton Lundell)
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 6:13 - Alex Tuch (Slashing - 2 min.); 8:58 - Tyson Jost (Delay of game, face-off violation - 2 min.); 14:08 - Tyson Jost (Interference - 2 min.)
FLA: 8:19 - Eetu Luostarinen (High-sticking - 2 min.); 12:11 - Josh Mahura (Holding - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
FLA: 5:18 - Eric Staal (Hooking - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 17:29 - Mattias Samuelsson (Holding - 2 min.)
FLA: 19:08 - Anton Lundell (Tripping - 2 min.); 19:47 - Aaron Ekblad (Tripping - 2 min.)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Matthew Tkachuk - FLA
2.) Brandon Montour - FLA
3.) Alex Lyon - FLA
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What's next:
The blue and gold head to Detroit to take on the Red Wings on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET with pregame coverage with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog starting at 6 p.m. ET on the flagship home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.