NHL

Florida Panthers at Buffalo Sabres

· National Hockey League
Final
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Thompson scores go-ahead goal, and Sabres end season-opening 3-game skid with 5-2 win over Panthers

Florida Panthers vs. Buffalo Sabres: Game Highlights

Henri Jokiharju, Mattias Samuelsson and Alex Tuch, with an empty-netter, also scored for the Sabres, who combined for three goals in their first three outings. Lindy Ruff won his first game in his second stint as Sabres coach, 4,257 days after his last victory with Buffalo — a 4-2 decision over Boston on Feb. 15, 2013.

Sam Bennett and Nate Schmidt scored for the Panthers, who have lost two straight since a season-opening win over Boston.

Panthers goalie Spencer Knight stopped 22 shots in his first start since a 6-2 loss to St. Louis on Feb. 14, 2023. He then entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program to help manage an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and spent last season in the minors.

Takeaways Panthers: The defending Stanley Cup champs lacked punch playing Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness). Knight has to be sharper, especially on Thompson's go-ahead goal that beat him through the legs from 25 feet.

Sabres: Buffalo avoids the franchise’s first 0-4 start and improves to 2-9-1 against Florida in its past 12. Power play finishes 0 for 3, dropping to 0 for 14 this season.

Key moment Sabres goalie Devon Levi turned aside Sam Reinhart’s shot off a 4-on-2 break 32 seconds into the second period. Jokiharju put Buffalo up 3-1 66 seconds later.

Key stat 738-682 — Number of career losses for Panthers coach Paul Maurice, most on the NHL list, versus Ruff, who ranks second. Maurice ranks fourth with 870 wins, and Ruff fifth with 865.

Up next The Panthers play the third of a four-game road trip at Columbus on Monday night. The Sabres open a three-game swing at Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.

Regular Season Series

BUF leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 9:01 Nate Schmidt Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: A.J. Greer (2), Jesper Boqvist (2)
Goal 1st Period 16:46 Jordan Greenway Goal (1) Backhand, assists: Peyton Krebs (1)
Goal 1st Period 17:27 Tage Thompson Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Alex Tuch (2), Connor Clifton (1)
Goal 2nd Period 1:34 Henri Jokiharju Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (1), Jack Quinn (1)
Goal 2nd Period 16:22 Mattias Samuelsson Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Jason Zucker (1), Ryan McLeod (1)
Goal 2nd Period 18:42 Sam Bennett Goal (3) Tip-In, assists: Sam Reinhart (2), Evan Rodrigues (2)
Goal 3rd Period 18:48 Alex Tuch Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: none

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/fla.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originFLA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
14 Blocked Shots 16
24 Hits 24
11 Takeaways 7
25 Shots 27
1 Power Play Goals 0
2 Power Play Opportunities 3
50.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
30 Faceoffs Won 32
48.4 Faceoff Win Percent 51.6
12 Giveaways 14
4 Total Penalties 3
8 Penalty Minutes 6

Game Information

KeyBank Center

Location: Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 16,644 | Capacity:

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 12 6 26 2
Florida 12 7 25 1
Tampa Bay 10 6 22 2
Buffalo 10 9 21 1
Boston 9 9 21 3
Detroit 8 9 18 2
Ottawa 8 10 17 1
Montreal 7 10 16 2
Full Standings