What Happened
Noah Ostlund scored on the power play 7:15 into the third period to break a 3-3 tie and give the Buffalo Sabres a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday in Buffalo. Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin scored his second goal of the season before leaving with an upper-body injury early in the second period and not returning. Panthers starting goalie Jacob Markstrom also did not return after allowing two goals on 11 first-period shots.
Key Details
- Ostlund scored by tapping in Zach Benson's pass through the crease.
- Dahlin scored his second goal of the season before exiting with an upper-body injury.
- Markstrom stopped 9 of 11 shots; Akira Schmid allowed three goals on 21 shots in relief.
- Colten Ellis allowed two goals on nine shots; Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 13 saves on 14 shots for the win.
- Sam Reinhart scored twice for Florida and Anton Lundell added a goal.
- Buffalo went 2-for-5 on the power play after opening the season 1-for-17.
What It Means
Buffalo never trailed and got a needed power-play boost after a slow start with the man advantage. The bigger concern is Dahlin's upper-body injury, which removed the captain early in the second period. Florida, now 2-2-2 and on a two-game skid, also faces uncertainty after Markstrom's early exit, with Schmid taking over in net.
What's Next
Both teams will await updates on Dahlin and Markstrom. Buffalo's power-play improvement and goaltending depth were tested in the win, while Florida looks to end a two-game losing streak in its next game.