Buffalo 3, Florida 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, October 11, 2019
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees:
Ghislain Hebert, Marc Joannette
Linesmen:
Shandor Alphonso, Scott Cherrey
Attendance:
15638
By Field Level Media
Jack Eichel and Casey Mittelstadt scored in the game-ending shootout as the host Buffalo Sabres edged the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Friday night.
Buffalo led 2-0 in the third period before Evgenii Dadonov and Mike Hoffman scored. Hoffman's goal with just 10.4 seconds left in the third period, off a Dadonov assist, forced overtime.
In the shootout for the Panthers, Vincent Trocheck was stopped by Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark, and captain Aleksander Barkov hit the near post.
Ullmark made 41 saves through regulation and overtime to earn the win.
Johan Larsson and Marco Scandella scored in regulation for Buffalo, and Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons added two assists apiece for the Sabres, who are off to a hot start this season, posting nine out of a possible 10 points.
Eichel opened the shootout with a goal, but teammate Sam Reinhart's attempt was saved before Mittelstadt netted the winner.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for the Panthers, who lost for the third time in four games. Bobrovsky played for 35 seconds without his stick in a wild overtime sequence, somehow keeping the Sabres from scoring.
It was a big win for Ullmark, who went just 15-14-5 last season with a 3.11 goals-against average. He was 0-0-1 with a 3.96 GAA this season entering Friday.
Both teams did a good job killing penalties early in the game. However, two seconds after the Panthers killed the game's fourth penalty -- Hoffman was whistled for cross-checking Marcus Johansson -- Buffalo took a 1-0 lead.
The Sabres, with their fourth line on the ice, worked a two-on-one breakaway, and Okposo's pass resulted in Larsson's first goal of the season with 31 seconds left in the second period.
Scandella gave the Sabres a 2-0 lead with 2:02 expired in the third period. On a Sabres breakout, Girgensons dropped the puck behind him to Okposo, whose cross-ice feed gave Scandella all of the left side of the net to work with, and the defenseman did not miss.
Just over four minutes later, the Panthers finally got on the board as Dadonov scored on a breakaway that was set up by Jonathan Huberdeau's lead pass.
Hoffman's fifth goal of the season tied the score at 2-2 as he waited and waited until he found an opening on the short side, putting the puck over Ullmark's left shoulder.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Buffalo |
|
Evgenii Dadonov 2 |
Points |
Zemgus Girgensons 2 |
|
Evgenii Dadonov 1 |
Goals |
Johan Larsson 1 |
|
Evgenii Dadonov 1 |
Assists |
Zemgus Girgensons 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Sergei Bobrovsky .938 |
Save Percentage |
Linus Ullmark .953 |
|
Sergei Bobrovsky 30 |
Saves |
Linus Ullmark 41 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Florida
|
43 |
2 |
0-2 |
4-4 |
8 |
28 |
| Buffalo
|
32 |
3 |
0-4 |
2-2 |
4 |
35 |
Upcoming Games
-
Buffalo will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Sabres have a W/L % of .750 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
-
Florida will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Panthers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.
For more information, contact us