BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Thursday, Feb. 23
Buffalo 6 at Tampa Bay 5 (OT)
Goals: Thompson (3), Girgensons, Quinn, Lyubushkin
Goalies: Comrie (36 saves/41 shots)
PP: 1/2; PK: 2/3; Shots: Tampa Bay 41 – Buffalo 23
CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 103)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
N/A
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST SEVEN DAYS
N/A
UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday, Feb. 26: Washington at Buffalo, 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28: Columbus at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 2: Buffalo at Boston, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 4: Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 12:30 p.m.
Monday, March 6: Edmonton at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
TODAY’S GAME
SABRES AT PANTHERS
• This is the third of four meetings between the Sabres and Panthers this season.
• Last meeting: Florida defeated Buffalo 4-1 in Buffalo on Jan. 16.
• Next meeting: Saturday, April 4 in Florida
• The Sabres are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games against the Panthers; 2-6-2 on the road.
• This is the 110th game all-time between Buffalo and Florida; Buffalo has a 52-48-9 series record.
• The Sabres are 22-25-5 on the road against the Panthers all-time.
FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:
BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT
- F Anthony Duclair | Games Missed: 60
- F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 35
- F Sam Bennett | Games Missed: 3
Total Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 182
LAST GAME
Panthers 4, Ducks 3 [OT] – Feb. 20 – FLA Live Arena
FLA Goals: E. Staal (11), M. Staal (2), Lomberg (8), Verhaeghe (30-OT)
ANA Goals: McTavish (13), Vatrano (15-PPG), Kulikov (3)
FLA Goalie: Bobrovsky (W) – 29 Saves
ANA Goalie: Gibson (L [OT]) – 51 Saves
FLA Shots: 55
ANA Shots: 32
Notes: Carter Verhaeghe tallied his 2nd career regular-season OT goal…Matthew Tkachuk (0-2-2) extended his point streak to two games (1-2-3)…Nick Cousins posted an assist for his second point in as many games (1-1-2)…Eetu Luostarinen posted two assists…Eric and Marc Staal’s goals represented the 2nd instance of two brothers scoring in the same game for the Panthers…Florida’s 55 shots on goal tied for the 2nd-most in a game in club history…FLA PP: 0-2, FLA PK: 1-2
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- Feb. 23: F Chris Tierney claimed off waivers by MTL
- Feb. 22: G Alex Lyon recalled from Charlotte (AHL) | G Spencer Knight and F Grigori Denisenko loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
PANTHERS vs. SABRES
ALL-TIME vs. BUF: 53-44-4-8
ALL-TIME HOME vs. BUF: 29-19-1-3
2022-23 vs. BUF: 2-0-0
CATS STATS
- Matthew Tkachuk’s 52 even-strength points lead all NHL forwards this season.
- Aleksander Barkov has recorded 30 points (9-21-30) over 26 career games against Buffalo.
- Matthew Tkachuk has amassed 17 points (8-9-17) over 12 career games vs. the Sabres.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers are 7-2-0 over their past nine games at FLA Live Arena, outscoring their opponents 39-26. Overall at home this season, Florida owns a 16-8-3 record and will play eight of their next nine games on home ice. Their only road trip over that span being to Tampa Bay on Feb. 28, the Panthers next nine games will all take place in the state of Florida. Of Florida’s 22 remaining games in the 2022-23 regular season, 14 will be on home ice. The Cats have scored 105 goals at FLA Live Arena this season (5th-most) for a 3.89 goals for per game average at home that ranks second behind TBL. Matthew Tkachuk leads the Cats with 42 points (14-28-42) over 25 home games in 2022-23; his 1.68 points per game on home ice ranks fourth among League skaters.
CATS AND SABRES
Florida will face off against Buffalo for the third time this season, and the first of two matchups at FLA Live Arena (also April 4). The Cats earned the win in each of their prior two visits to KeyBank Center this season, tallying four goals in each contest. Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida with five points (1-4-5) against the Sabres this season, while Brandon Montour (2-0-2) has scored a goal in both games against his former team in 2022-23. The Panthers have won each of their prior six games against Buffalo since Dec. 2, 2021, posting an 8-1-0 record against the Sabres at FLA Live Arena since Dec. 20, 2016.
POUR IT ON
Following games played Feb. 22, the Panthers ranked third among NHL teams with 207 goals scored, and their 137 even-strength goals ranked second behind SEA. The Cats lead all NHL clubs averaging 36.4 shots on goal per game.
