BUFFALO, NY. (The Associated Press) — Florida captain Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist in his return after missing eight games with a lower-body injury, and the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Monday night.
Carter Verhaeghe scored the go-ahead goal with 3:16 left in the second period, and added an assist to extend his point streak to seven games.
Jesper Boqvist and Sam Reinhart staked the Panthers to a 2-0 lead by scoring 55 seconds apart in the first period. Sam Bennett also scored, Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves and the Panthers are on a 6-1-1 run since a 1-2 start to the season.
Rasmus Dahlin and Jason Zucker scored in a span of 1:52 to tie the game at 2 midway through the second period. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 25 saves.
Takeaways
Florida: The defending Stanley Cup champs looked and played like a different team than their last visit to Buffalo, a 5-2 loss on Oct. 12, when they were missing Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk (illness) and started backup goalie Spencer Knight.
Buffalo: It’s baby steps for the improving Sabres, who missed an opportunity to win four straight for the first time since a five-game run in January 2023.
Key moment
Verhaeghe scored after being left alone in front where he converted a rebound off Tkachuk’s shot from the right circle.
