The Buffalo Sabres snapped a three-game losing streak on Sunday night with a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.
The Sabres didn't get as many offensive chances as the Panthers did in this contest, but they got the timely goals, as well as the goaltending performance from Linus Ullmark to grab the much-needed win. Zemgus Girgensons was able to net two goals for the Sabres in the win, while Jeff Skinner, Jack Eichel and Victor Olofsson also found the back of the net.
The scoring started late in the first period as Eichel drove the puck into the Panthers zone, carrying the play with him. The Sabres captain drew a couple Panthers defenders towards him so he could make a great pass to Skinner in front of the net, and the winger tipped it under the pads of goalie Sam Montembeault.
Nearly two minutes later, Girgensons used a Panthers defender as a screen while trailing on an offensive rush, and he fired a wrist shot through the blocker arm of Montembeault to make it 2-0.
Buffalo was able to score twice on five shots on goal in the opening period, while Ullmark was able to turn away all 12 Florida shots that he faced.
The second period started with the Sabres adding to their lead as Eichel controlled the puck along the wall in Florida's zone and eventually got free enough to fire a shot on goal. His wrist shot ended up hitting the inside part of the post and past Montembeault for his 14th goal of the season.
The Panthers got on the board near the halfway point of the period as the Sabres failed to clear the puck off a faceoff in the Buffalo end. Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe tried to get the puck out of danger, but it ended up finding Noel Acciari in front of Ullmark, and the Panthers center fired a quick shot over the blocker of Ullmark for the goal.
Ullmark continued to face pressure right after the Florida goal, and Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad nearly made it a 3-2 game but his shot ended up ringing off the post.
In the later stages of the second period, the Sabres started a breakout of their own end with Sam Reinhart sending a nice breakout pass to Olofsson into open space. The Sabres rookie winger made no mistake as he zipping a laser past Montembeault, off the post and in to put the Sabres up by a 4-1 score.
Florida continued to put up the pressure in the second period with 16 shots on goal, but Buffalo continued to have answers with four goals on just 14 total shots through 40 minutes.
The Sabres found themselves down a man early in the third period and it helped the Panthers bring things within two goals again. Brett Connolly took a nice pass fed from Ekblad along the left wall and he quickly fired a shot that was able to get by Ullmark to make it 4-2.
However, Buffalo re-gained its three goal lead with 6:35 to go in regulation as forward Jimmy Vesey found Girgensons sprinting up the right side boards. Girgensons got a weak backhand shot on goal before getting a better piece of the puck and was able to squeak it by Montembeault for his second of the night.
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary
First Period:
BUF: 16:24 - Jeff Skinner (9) (Jack Eichel); 18:23 - Zemgus Girgensons (Brandon Montour) FLA: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 3:42 - Jack Eichel (14) (Rasmus Dahlin, Zach Bogosian); 14:41 - Victor Olofsson (8) (Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel) FLA: 9:29 - Noah Acciari (Unassisted)
Third Period:
BUF: 13:25 - Zemgus Girgensons (3) (Jimmy Vesey, Johan Larsson) FLA: 3:08 - Brett Connolly (11) PP (Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck)
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONEFLA: 11:31 - Aleksander Barkov (Hooking - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 15:26 - Jack Eichel (Hooking - 2 min.); 7:09 - Slashing (2 minutes)FLA: None
Third Period:
BUF: 2:14 - Henri Jokiharju (Tripping - 2 min.); 14:05 - Rasmus Ristolainen (Interference - 2 min.) FLA: 17:21 - Aleksander Barkov (Holding - 2 min.)
Shots on Goal:
BUF: 26 (5, 9, 12)FLA: 45 (12, 16, 17)
Goalies:
BUF: Linus Ullmark - 43 savesFLA: Sam Montembeault - 21 saves
Power Plays:
BUF: 0 for 2 (0%) FLA: 1 for 4 (25%)
Three Stars:
- Jack Eichel - BUF
- Zemgus Girgensons - BUF
- Linus Ullmark - BUF
What's Next:
The Sabres travel up state in Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night at Amalie Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. on WGR with the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show starting at 6 p.m. with Schopp and the Bulldog.
