Florida 5, Buffalo 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen:
Shandor Alphonso, Libor Suchanek
Attendance:
17602
By Field Level Media
Evgenii Dadonov had a pair of goals and an assist in the Florida Panthers' four-goal third period on the way to a 5-2 win over the host Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
Aleksander Barkov, Dadonov and Frank Vatrano all scored in a span of 3:44 early in the period as Florida erased a 2-1 deficit, and Dadonov added an empty-net goal with less than three minutes to play.
Troy Brouwer also scored for the Panthers, who beat Buffalo for the seventh straight time overall and the second time this season.
Jeff Skinner and Rasmus Ristolainen scored goals for the Sabres, who had gone 9-1-2 in their past 12 games on home ice.
Roberto Luongo made 30 saves for Florida, and Carter Hutton had 31 for Buffalo.
Skinner received a pass from Jack Eichel from the corner and sent a wrist shot in from his forehand for his 25th tally, producing a 1-0 Buffalo lead at 3:48 of the first period.
Linemates Skinner, Eichel and Sam Reinhart extended point streaks on the goal. Reinhart moved his to 11 games -- his helper was the 100th of his NHL career -- and Skinner and Eichel both reached seven.
The Panthers tied it at 1 at 9:17 of the second period when Brouwer scored his seventh goal after banking in a wide shot off Hutton's left skate.
However, the Sabres regained the lead less than two minutes later when Ristolainen skated in and was able to sneak in a shot on the short side for his fourth goal.
Florida's power play, ranked fourth in the NHL, tallied 58 seconds into the third period after a Buffalo penalty carried over. Keith Yandle's shot from the point struck Barkov and went in for his 15th goal.
Dadonov soon stole a puck from defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, and on a breakaway, last June's No. 1 overall pick fouled Dadonov, who was awarded a penalty shot.
The Russian winger put the one-on-one attempt on Hutton, and the goalie appeared to make the save as the home crowd cheered. However, the puck trickled in off Hutton's right pad and skate for Florida's first lead at 3-2 at 3:30.
Vatrano backhanded in his ninth marker on a rebound off Dadonov's wrister just 1:12 after the penalty shot to give Florida a 4-2 edge, and Dadonov scored his 16th goal into the empty net to complete the scoring.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Buffalo |
|
Evgenii Dadonov 3 |
Points |
Jeff Skinner 2 |
|
Evgenii Dadonov 2 |
Goals |
Jeff Skinner 1 |
|
Jonathan Huberdeau 2 |
Assists |
Sam Reinhart 2 |
|
Aleksander Barkov 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Roberto Luongo .938 |
Save Percentage |
Carter Hutton .886 |
|
Roberto Luongo 30 |
Saves |
Carter Hutton 31 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Florida
|
36 |
5 |
1-3 |
3-3 |
11 |
23 |
| Buffalo
|
32 |
2 |
0-3 |
2-3 |
11 |
29 |
Upcoming Games
-
Buffalo will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Sabres have a W/L % of .619 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Florida will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Panthers have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .400 after a loss.
For more information, contact us