The Panthers tally 4 goals to post a 5-2 win over Buffalo.
By Heather Engel / NHL Correspondent
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Evgenii Dadonov had two goals and an assist, and the Florida Panthers rallied for a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.
Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist, Troy Brouwer and Frank Vatrano scored and Roberto Luongo made 30 saves for Florida (13-13-6), which has won two in a row after a four-game losing streak (0-3-1). The Panther have won seven straight against the Sabres.
Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist, and Rasmus Ristolainen scored for Buffalo (20-10-5), which had a four-game point streak end (3-0-1). Carter Hutton made 31 saves.
Skinner gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 3:48 of the first period. He received a pass from Jack Eichel while cutting through the slot and sent a backhand over a sprawling Luongo.
The goal was his 25th of the season, surpassing his total from 2017-18. He is also tied for second in Buffalo history behind Alexander Mogilny (34 games) for fewest games (35) needed to reach the mark.
Brouwer tied it 1-1 at 9:17 of the second period. Jared McCann’s shot on a 3-on-1 hit the end boards and bounced to Brouwer, who banked it in off Hutton.
Ristolainen put the Sabres ahead 2-1 at 11:08 when he skated down the right wing and scored short side.
Barkov scored 58 seconds into the third period to tie 2-2 on the power play, redirecting Keith Yandle’s point shot in front.
Dadonov made it 3-2 on a penalty shot that trickled through Hutton’s pads at 3:30, and Vatrano capitalized on a rebound at the right post to extend the lead to 4-2 at 4:42.
Dadonov scored his second of the game into an empty net at 17:30 to make it 5-2.
Up next
The Sabres travel back to Washington to take on the Capitals Friday night before returning home Saturday night to face the Anaheim Ducks before the Christmas break.