Sunrise, Fla. (WGR 550) - The penultimate game of the 2023-24 regular season did not go the Sabres' way down in South Florida, as Buffalo lost, 3-2, in overtime to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.
Three minutes into the contest, Tyson Jost opened the scoring for the Sabres with his third goal of the year. It was a tipped goal off a point shot from Rasmus Dahlin.
Florida quickly responded with consecutive tallies to take a 2-1 edge.
First, it was Anton Lundell tying the score at 1-1 with a nifty backhand from the slot that beat Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
A little more than three minutes later with the Sabres on the power play, Kevin Stenlund was able to get in alone on Luukkonen and give the Panthers the lead with a shorthanded marker.
The Sabres were able to salvage its man advantage, though, as just before their opportunity expired, Jack Quinn tied the score at 2-2 with his ninth goal of the campaign. Quinn collected a rebound in front of the net and beat a sprawled out Sergei Bobrovsky in the Panthers net.
The game remained tied at 2-2 through the remainder of regulation, and eventually into an overtime period.
With 1:03 left on the clock in overtime, former Sabres forward Sam Reinhart dropped the curtain on his former team with his 55th goal of the 2023-24 campaign.
One thing to monitor from the third period was the ejection of defenseman Connor Clifton. After video review, Clifton was assessed a match penalty for a hit to the head of Panthers forward Nick Cousins.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 2:59 - Tyson Jost (3) (Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju); 9:48 - Jack Quinn (9) PPG (Bowen Byram, Owen Power)
FLA: 5:02 - Anton Lundell (13) (Matthew Tkachuk, Nick Cousins); 8:11 - Kevin Stenlund (11) SHG (Unassisted)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
FLA: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
FLA: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
FLA: 3:57 - Sam Reinhart (55) (Aleksander Barkov)
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Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Sam Reinhart - FLA
2.) Sergei Bobrovsky - FLA
3.) Anton Lundell - FLA
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What's Next:
The Sabres wrap up the 2023-24 regular season on Monday night at Amalie Arena against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET with pregame coverage starting on WGR at 6 p.m. ET with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.