Hot on the heels of a smashing 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Florida Panthers (34-15-4) will take on the Buffalo Sabres (23-25-2) for the first time this season tonight at KeyBank Center in the second segment of a back-to-back. Anton Lundell delivered his first multi-goal game of the campaign; Matthew Tkachuk scored and set up a pair; and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 of 27 shots as the Cats won on the road for the ninth-straight time. The Panthers hot streak has them just two points behind the first place Boston Bruins.
After dropped their first two tilts after the All-Star Break, the Sabres exploded offensively in a 7-0 rout of the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch each collected a goal and assist and goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen posted his fourth shutout of the season. Picked by a many to contend for a playoff spot, Buffalo remains mired in seventh-place in Atlantic Division, ten points out of the second wild card spot.
- WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: KeyBank Center – Buffalo, NY
- ON THE TUBE: Bally Sports Florida, MSG-Buffalo
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #LetsGoBuffalo, #FLAvsBUF, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Die By The Blade
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 2, BUF 1 – 4/4/2023
- NEXT MEETING: February 27, 2024
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Stolarz (8-5-2 .917 / 2.11 0SO) Buffalo: Comrie (1-5-0 .863 / 4.01 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Buffalo
Thursday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- Seattle (22-21-10 54P) at BOSTON (32-11-10 74P) 7 p.m.
- MONTREAL (22-23-8 52P) at New York Rangers (34-16-3 71P) 7 p.m.
- Anaheim (18-32-2 38P) at OTTAWA (22-25-2 46P) 7 p.m.
- Colorado (33-17-4 70P) at TAMPA BAY (29-20-5 63P) 7 p.m.
- Philadelphia (29-19-6 64P) at TORONTO (27-16-8 62P) 7 p.m.
- DETROIT (27-19-6 60P) at Vancouver (36-12-6 78P) 10 p.m.