Tkachuk, Panthers stay hot with win against Sabres

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist for the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.

Tkachuk returned to the lineup after missing a 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday with an upper-body injury.

“It felt great," Tkachuk said. "You never like missing games, and nobody hated that more than me.

"(We) really locked it down really well. Guys played hard in front of [Sergei Bobrovsky], but he was unreal again tonight."

Brandon Montour had a goal and two assists for the Panthers (39-16-4), who have won eight of their past nine games and have allowed two or fewer goals in 14 straight (12-2-0). Bobrovsky made 28 saves.

“It is a good win for us against a team with a lot of skill,” Bobrovsky said. “That was a good challenge for us, and we are happy with the result.”

Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson scored for the Sabres (27-28-4), who had won three straight overall and five in a row on the road. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 34 saves.

“I said [six weeks] ago that we are in a different place right now mentally and with our psyche," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. “Our guys know how to win, have matured through lots of adversity and challenges this year. They are dialed in. I don’t think that’s going to change. They have grown a lot and their appetite is increasing. We’re all watching it happen.’’

Cozens gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 9:25 of the first period, scoring with a one-timer from above the circles on a power play.

Sam Bennett tied it 1-1 at 12:54. He took a pass from Nick Cousins as he cut across the slot and beat Luukkonen glove side from the left circle.

Tkachuk gave Florida a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 15:36 of the first. His backdoor pass for Aleksander Barkov deflected off the stick of Buffalo defenseman Erik Johnson and went five-hole on Luukkonen.

“We still had a chance to win the game, and that was all that mattered, and that’s how we looked at it going into the third,” Luukkonen said. “It stinks we lost, but it was a good effort.”

Montour pushed it to 3-1 at 9:41 of the third period with a one-timer from above the circles off a pass from Tkachuk during a 5-on-3 power play.

“We have 20-something games left," Montour said. “We have work to do, but guys are buying in and playing the right way.”

Thompson cut it to 3-2 at 12:44 when he knocked in a rebound out of the air from the edge of the crease.

“I thought we controlled the game in the third, but obviously it is a tough league when you are climbing uphill,” Thompson said. “Chasing a lead is always tough."

Buffalo outshot Florida 13-8 in the third period, but the Panthers kept possession of the puck for the majority of the final three minutes, which forced Luukkonen to stay in his net longer than the Sabres would have hoped.

“I liked our third period because they had some defensive-zone time in our end, but I felt we were in pretty good shape,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It did not feel wobbly or dangerous. But [Buffalo] is a good team with lots of skill. They make plays constantly."

NOTES: Bobrovsky has allowed two or fewer goals in nine straight games, a Panthers record. ... Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe left the game at 11:05 of the third period after he was hit in the face with a puck. He did not return, but Maurice said postgame that Verhaeghe was fine. ... Tkachuk has 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 22 games since Jan. 1. Only Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (43 points) and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (41) have more.