The Florida Panthers (30-25-3) will finish off a home back to back when they face the Buffalo Sabres (32-19-6) tonight in the final regular season meeting of the season between the two Atlantic Division clubs.
A fast start powered the Cats to a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in their return to action folllowing the three-week break for the Winter Olympics. Evan Rodrigues scored a short-handed goal and added an assist; Brad Marchand netted two goals; Carter Verhaeghe notched the eventual game-winner; and Matthew Tkachuk completed the scoring. Sergei Bobrovsky delivered his best start in a while, stopping 28 of 29 shots.
The Sabres maintained its hold on the first wild card by beating the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in Newark on Wednesday. Leading scorer Tage Thompson and Peyton Krebs each had a goal and an assist while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned the nod for First Star with a strong 27-save performance. Former Panther Alex Lyon will get the start tonight for Buffalo, as the team tries to continue on a path that will end their lengthy playoff drought.
- WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, MSG-B
- ON THE DIAL: 104.3 WQAM (D/B), 106.3 ESPN (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #SabreHood, #FLAvsBUF, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Die By The Blade
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 4 of 4 (1-2)
- LAST MEETING: BUF 5, @FLA 3 (Recap) – 2/2/2026
- NEXT MEETING: That’s all, folks!
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Tarasov (8-8-2 .899 / 2.83 0SO) Buffalo: Lyon (14-8-3 .913 / 2.72 2SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Buffalo
Friday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
Idle: TBL (80P), DET (74P). MON (73P), BOS (71P), OTT (64P), TOR (63P)