Period 1, 12:54 – Sam Bennett from Nick Cousins and Brandon Montour (1-1)
Montour did the heavy lifting on Florida’s first goal, beginning when he carried the puck from behind his own net and through the neutral zone with speed. He passed off to Cousins upon crossing the offensive blue line and drove to the middle of the zone, creating open ice for Cousins to set up Bennett in the slot.
Period 1, 15:36 (PP) – Matthew Tkachuk from Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour (2-1, FLA)
The Panthers took the lead just 14 seconds into their first power play of the night. Tkachuk attempted a pass across the net that instead deflected off the skate of Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson and between Luukkonen’s pads.
Period 3, 9:41 (PP) – Brandon Montour from Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart (3-1, FLA)
Luukkonen stopped 18 shots during the second period to keep the Sabres within striking distance, but the Panthers utilized a 5-on-3 power play to pull ahead in the third.
The Sabres were assessed concurrent minor penalties, a tripping minor against Zach Benson and a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, to give the Panthers a full two minutes with the two-man advantage. Montour buried a one-timer from the point with Aleksander Barkov parked in front of Luukkonen.
Period 3, 12:44 – Tage Thompson from Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch (3-2, FLA)
Tuch won a loose puck coming out of a faceoff in the Florida zone and passed to Dahlin, who fired a slap shot from the point. Thompson collected the rebound and scored his 17th goal of the season to bring the Sabres back within one, but it was as close as they would come.
