Matthew Tkachuk scored the go-ahead goal 59 seconds into the third period as the Florida Panthers rallied for a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Alex Lyon, Florida’s third-string goalie, made 40 saves for his fourth straight win. He has filled in for starter Sergei Bobrovsky, who has missed those four games due to a non-COVID illness.
Florida (40-31-7, 87 points) moved past the Pittsburgh Penguins to gain at least temporary possession of a wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh lost 5-1 to New Jersey on Tuesday night.
Buffalo (37-32-7, 81 points) had a five-game point streak (4-0-1) snapped.
The Panthers also got a goal from defenseman Aaron Ekblad and two assists from defenseman Brandon Montour.
Tkachuk’s goal was his 39th of the season. Tkachuk trails only Carter Verhaeghe (40) among Panthers goal-scorers. Tkachuk also has 103 points — one short of his career high.
Buffalo’s goal came from Dylan Cozens, and Devon Levi made 34 saves.
Sabres leading scorer Tage Thompson returned on Tuesday after missing three straight games due to an upper-body injury. Thompson had a first-period assist for his 90th point of the season. He is just the 10th player in Sabres history to reach that milestone.
Buffalo appeared to score on its first shot on goal, but Alex Tuch’s tally was wiped out when Florida successfully challenged for offsides.
The Sabres officially got on the board with 8:58 gone in the first on Cozens’ power-play goal from above the right circle. Rasmus Dahlin and Thompson earned assists, and Tuch occupied two Panthers defenders in front of the net to leave Cozens with plenty of room.
Florida tied the score 1-1 with 4:13 left in the first. Following an interference penalty on Buffalo’s Tyson Jost against Anton Lundell, the Panthers went to work. Ekblad took a pass from Montour and ripped a shot that bounced off the left post and off Levi before crossing the line.
The Panthers took a 2-1 lead in the opening minute of the third period as Eetu Luostarinen had a steal to keep the puck in Buffalo’s end. Tkachuk then made a big hit to again retain possession. From there, Montour fired a shot from the point, and Tkachuk deflected the puck past Levi.
–Field Level Media
