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Cats' comeback effort comes up short, Panthers lose 5-3 in Buffalo for second straight regulation defeat
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- Cats' comeback effort comes up short, Panthers lose 5-3 in Buffalo for second straight regulation defeat
The Florida Panthers opened their brief two-game road trip on Monday afternoon in Buffalo, but the game did not go particularly well for the Cats.
Florida fell behind four different times en route to a frustrating 5-3 defeat at KeyBank Center in Downtown Buffalo.
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It took less than six minutes for the Sabres to pick up the opening goal, as Josh Doan blocked a Gustav Forsling attempted dump in from the point and quickly transitioned it into a rush chance.
Doan's wrist shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle beat Jacob Markstrom, who had been brilliant to that point, over the blocker to put the Sabres in front 1-0 at the 5:58 mark.
Florida's first goal of the game came just over five minutes later and it was the result of some hard work by a pair of Panthers forward lines.
A shift that started with the Cats' fourth line pinning the Sabres deep in their zone was kept going by the Lundell line, as Florida was able to make a change while still keeping the puck in Buffalo's end.
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Eventually, a point shot by Aaron Ekblad hit Sabres' goalie Colton Ellis up high, and the rebound bounced to Anton Lundell at the side of the crease. Lundell swept the puck through Ellis' five-hole, tying the game at one.
A holding penalty called on Dmitry Kulikov allowed Buffalo to re-take the lead, coming off a blast by Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres had been just 1-for-17 on the power play previously.
Not that the Panthers have been any better.
Coming into the game Florida was just 1-for-28 when on the man advantage, but that changed after Owen Zellweger was called for tripping Sam Reinhart early in period number two.
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Reinhart proved to be Johnny-on-the-spot, standing next to the goal crease and tapping home Seth Jones' point shot that had just trickled through Ellis' pads, tying the game at two.
He wasn't done there.
A few minutes after Ryan McLeod put Buffalo back in front 3-2 on a breakaway, Reinhart picked up his second PPG of the night, this time benefiting off a great, between-the-legs pass by Brady Tkachuk and knotting the score for a third time.
By this point of the game, both teams had replaced their starting goaltenders.
Akira Schmid came out to start the second period for Florida after Markstrom stopped nine of 11 shots during the opening frame, and Buffalo replaced Ellis with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after Reinhart's first power play goal.
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The third period did not go well for the visitors, as Buffalo picked up another power play goal at the 7:15 mark and then an insurance goal by Tage Thompson 6:05 later.
That 5-3 score is how the game ended, with Florida dropping its second straight game in regulation after picking up points in their first four games of the season.
Now holding a 2-2-2 record, the Panthers won't have much time to dwell on the defeats.
They're right back in action on Tuesday night when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Puck drop is set for 6:15 p.m. as the NHL will be holding its annual Frozen Frenzy in which all 32 games play on a staggered schedule.
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Photo caption: Oct 12, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod (71) scores a goal onFloridaPanthersgoaltender Akira Schmid (40) during the second period at KeyBank Center. (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)
