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National Hockey League
Florida 5, Buffalo 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, October 28, 2024
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Michael Markovic, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen: Justin Johnson, Andrew Smith
Attendance: 12906

Aleksander Barkov celebrated his return to the lineup with a goal and an assist to help the visiting Florida Panthers to a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart each had a goal and an assist for Florida, and Sam Bennett scored in his fifth straight game. He also added an assist. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves for the Panthers, who have won three straight.

Barkov, who missed the past eight games due to a lower-body injury, scored his first goal of the season.

Jason Zucker and Rasmus Dahlin scored for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves for Buffalo, which had won three in a row.

Florida scored two goals on its first four shots on target.

Jesper Boqvist gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 11:01 of the first period. Anton Lundell entered the zone on a two-on-one, drew a defender toward him and passed to Boqvist, who scored from the low slot.

Reinhart made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 11:56. Barkov, skating behind the net, dished the puck to Reinhart, who was alone in front, and he beat Luukkonen for his seventh goal of the season.

Zucker pulled the Sabres within 2-1 with a power-play goal at 10:45 of the second period. Tage Thompson sent a one-timer toward the net from the high slot, and Zucker batted it past Bobrovsky.

Dahlin tied the game at 2 soon after when he took a pass from Owen Power and skated down near the right circle while using his body to shield the puck before scoring from the low slot at 12:37.

The Panthers took a 3-2 lead at 16:44 when Verhaeghe knocked in the rebound of Matthew Tkachuk's shot off the rush.

Bennett made it 4-2 with a power-play goal at 14:35 of the third period. After Nate Schmidt blocked a clearing attempt, he traded passes with Bennett, who moved into the right circle and scored on a wrist shot.

Barkov scored on a wrist shot from the right circle at 15:43 for the 5-2 final.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Buffalo
Aleksander Barkov 2 Points Rasmus Dahlin 1
Aleksander Barkov 1 Goals Rasmus Dahlin 1
Aleksander Barkov 1 Assists JJ Peterka 1
Sam Bennett 1 Power Play Goals Jason Zucker 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Sergei Bobrovsky .929 Save Percentage Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen .839
Sergei Bobrovsky 26 Saves Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Florida 31 5 2-4 2-3 10 22
Buffalo 28 2 1-3 2-4 12 40
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Sabres have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .400 after a loss.
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Panthers have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .750 after a loss.