Sunrise, Fla. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Florida weekend for the Buffalo Sabres started on a high note.
It was a strong result from start-to-finish, with Buffalo earning two points in a 3-2 win, and a 3-1-0 record for the season against Atlantic Division rival Florida Panthers.
With 2:12 left on the clock in the first period at Amerant Bank Arena, the Sabres opened the scoring against the Panthers.
The second power play unit went to work for Buffalo, as Ryan McLeod found Alex Tuch in the slot for his 23rd goal of the season.
In the second period, Florida tied things up on a man advantage of its own.
With defenseman Michael Kesselring in the box for hooking, at the 13:45 mark, it took just seconds for forward Matthew Tkachuk to beat Alex Lyon to make it a 1-1 contest.
With the game still tied about eight-and-a-half minutes into the third, a couple of Sabres switched up their usual roles to fuel the go-ahead score.
Sabres winger Beck Malenstyn accepted a drop pass as he entered the offensive zone, and stepped into a slap shot from long range. Parked in front of the Panthers net was Mattias Samuelsson, who muddied the lane of goalie Daniil Tarasov.
The goal was challenged by Florida head coach Paul Maurice for goaltender interference, but it was to no avail as the call stood.
Malenstyn's fifth goal of the season also gave the Sabres a power play after the unsuccessful Panthers challenge.
Then with 1:17 left in regulation, Peyton Krebs extended the advantage to two for Buffalo courtesy of his specialty this season: The empty-net goal.
Florida didn't go quietly into the night, though, as the Panthers managed to get a goal from forward Sam Bennett, who got a fortunate bounce courtesy of Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin, who put the puck off Lyon and into his own net.
Krebs' tally proved to be the game-winning goal in the Sabres' second win in as many games since returning to game action from the Olympic break.
The Sabres ended the night in a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Detroit Red Wings. Both teams are still six points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning.
----------
SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 17:48 - Alex Tuch (23) PPG (Ryan McLeod, Bowen Byram)
FLA: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
FLA: 13:51 - Matthew Tkachuk (5) PPG (Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand)
Third Period:
BUF: 11:38 - Beck Malenstyn (5) (Josh Norris, Noah Ostlund); 18:43 - Peyton Krebs (9) ENG (Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch)
FLA: 19:25 - Sam Bennett (20) (Unassisted)
----------
----------
BlueStar Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Beck Malenstyn - BUF
2.) Alex Lyon - BUF
3.) Matthew Tkachuk - FLA
----------
What's next:
The Sabres remain in Florida to visit the Lightning on Saturday night at Benchmark International Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.