National Hockey League
Florida 6, Buffalo 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, March 7, 2022
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Steve Kozari
Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Kory Nagy
Attendance: 7906

Aleksander Barkov had a goal and two assists and Mason Marchment produced three assists as the Florida Panthers rolled to a 6-1 win over the host Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

The Panthers are on a three-game winning streak, and the latest victory moved Florida into first place in the Atlantic Division.

Brandon Montour and Anthony Duclair each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers. 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 on Sunday to make his first NHL appearance since Feb. 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 past 14 games. The forward has reached or surpassed the three-point threshold in four of those contests.

Barkov has also been red hot, with seven multi-point performances over his past 10 games. Barkov has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) over that 10-game span.

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 on goal 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 coming out of the evening was the status of Anton Lundell, who left the game in the first period after sustaining 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 Florida attack.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Buffalo
Aleksander Barkov 3 Points John Hayden 1
Aleksander Barkov 1 Goals John Hayden 1
Mason Marchment 3 Assists Rasmus Asplund 1
Aleksander Barkov 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Spencer Knight .967 Save Percentage Craig Anderson .806
Spencer Knight 29 Saves Craig Anderson 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Florida 31 6 2-3 5-5 12 26
Buffalo 30 1 0-5 1-3 18 29
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against Vegas. The Sabres have a W/L % of .368 after a win and .282 after a loss.
  • Florida will play their next game on the road against Pittsburgh. The Panthers have a W/L % of .730 after a win and .579 after a loss.