February 27, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Buffalo Sabers center Taj Thompson (72) moves the puck against Florida Panthers left winger Matthew Tkachuk (19) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Beck Malenstyn scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period in the Buffalo Sabers’ 3-2 win over the host Florida Panthers on Friday.
Malenstyn gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead at 11:38 of the final period. With Mattias Samuelsson positioned at the top of the crease, Malenstyn played a slap shot that beat the gloves of Daniil Tarasov.
Florida challenged the play for goalie interference, with Samuelsson’s stick being close to Tarasov’s glove, but the call was upheld after review.
Peyton Krebs scored an empty-net goal at 18:43 to make it 3-1, then Sam Bennett’s shot was rebounded and Rasmus Dahlin hit his own goalie to make it 3-2.
Alex Tuch scored a goal and added an assist while Alex Lyon stopped 27 shots for the Sabres, who have won their second straight game since the NHL’s Olympic break and are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.
Bennett also had an assist and Matthew Tkachuk scored for the Panthers, who have lost six of eight points. Tarasov made 36 saves.
Florida had its chances early and forced Lyon to stay alert. With traffic in front of him, he padded a Tkachuk shot next to the net, poked the loose puck in seconds later and then held firm as the rebound rolled back toward him.
Touch gave the Sabers a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 17:48 of the first period. Ryan McLeod threw a backhand to Tuch from the top of the right circle, who quickly tackled it and snapped it past Tarasov to the blocker’s side.
Tkachuk hit a power play with 6 seconds left to tie the score at 1-1 with 13 minutes, 51 seconds left in the second period. After a faceoff, the puck bounced loose in the left circle and Tkachuk collected it, moved to the front of the net, and lifted it short side over Lyon’s right shoulder under the bar.
Carter Verhaeghe had a chance to give the Panthers a partial 2-on-1 penalty 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the third quarter, but Lyon denied it.
Buffalo’s netminder was particularly sharp midway through the period, getting his pads out and stopping AJ Greer at the door to keep the game tied.
Sabers defenseman Owen Power played in his 300th NHL game.
–Field level media
