Aleksander Barkov had a goal and two assists and Mason Marchment had three assists as the Florida Panthers rolled to a 6-1 win over the host Buffalo Sabres Monday night.
The Panthers are on a three-game winning streak, and Monday’s victory moved Florida into first place in the Atlantic Division.
Brandon Montour and Anthony Duclair each had a goal and an assist. Noel Acciari, Carter Verhaeghe, and Patric Hornqvist scored Florida’s other goals.
John Hayden had Buffalo’s goal. The Sabres were only outshot by a 31-30 margin, but went scoreless on five power-play opportunities.
The third-period score from Hayden spoiled Spencer Knight’s bid for his first NHL shutout. Called up from the AHL to make his first NHL appearance since February 1, Knight stopped 29 of 30 shots to earn his 10th win of the season.
Marchment has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) over his last 14 games. The forward has reached or surpassed the three-point threshold in four of those games.
Barkov has also been red hot, with seven multi-point performances over his last 10 games. Barkov has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) over those 10 contests.
Duclair and Barkov each scored on the power play, giving the Panthers two power-play goals in each of their last four games.
Florida had only three shots in the first period, but it was still enough to forge a lead when Montour collected his sixth goal of the season. The defenseman was playing his first game in Buffalo since being traded from the Sabres to the Panthers last April.
That slow opening period gave way to a scoring outburst in the second frame. The Panthers had 20 shots in the second period and scored four goals within a seven-minute stretch.
The Panthers’ one concern of the evening was the status of Anton Lundell, who left the game in the first period after suffering a lower-body injury. The rookie has been an immediate contributor, tallying 14 goals and 24 assists over his first 52 NHL games.
Sabres goalie Craig Anderson allowed six goals on 31 shots, receiving little help from his defense against the high-powered Panthers attack.
–Field Level Media