BY RANDY SCHULTZ –
Photos by Janet Schultz; All photos are property of NYHOL and cannot be downloaded or printed without permission of Janet@nyhockeyonline.com
The Buffalo Sabres ended their two-game losing streak defeating the Florida Panthers, 5-3, Monday afternoon at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Josh Doan opened the scoring for the Sabres early in the first period to give his team an early 1-0 lead. Peyton Krebs assisted.
The Panthers tied the game later in the first period, 1-1, on a goal by Anton Lundell. With less than six minutes remaining in the period the Sabres took the lead, 2-1, on a power play goal by Rasmus Dahlin. Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson assisted.
Florida tied the game, 2-2, on a goal by Sam Reinhart at the 6:26 mark of the second period. At that point of the game Sabres head coach, Lindy Ruff, took a gamble removing starting goalie, Colten Ellis, and replacing him with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Ellis had given up two soft goals with the first 14 shots he faced.
The Sabres responded to Ruff’s move, taking the lead again, 3-2, five minutes later on a goal by Ryan McLeod. Olen Zellweger and Owen Power assisted.
But the Sabres lead was short lived with the Panthers scoring a power play goal by Reinhart, his second goal of the game. The two teams went into the third period tied, 3-3.
Noah Ostlund put the Sabres ahead for good, 4-3, early in the third period with a power play goal. Zach Benson and Quinn assisted.
Thompson rounded out the scoring for the Sabres late in the period. Power and Krebs assisted to make the final, 5-3.
SABRE POINTS – Dahlin left the game early on with an upper body injury. He is considered day-to-day.
The Sabres outshot the Panthers for the game, 32-23.
The three stars of the game were all Sabres: #3, Quinn; #2, McLeod; #1, Ostlund.
Following the game, the Sabres made a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sabres acquired defensemen Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch. The Pens got former number one draft pick defenseman Ryan Johnson.
The Sabres also recalled Buffalo native Dennis Gilbert, a defenseman, from Rochester.
The Sabres are currently on a three-game road trip with two games in Montreal and a stop in Toronto in between.
First Period Photo Gallery
Second Period Photo Gallery
Third Period Photo Gallery
