SUNRISE, Fla. — Zemgus Girgensons scored twice, Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Sunday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Victor Olofsson and Jeff Skinner also scored, and Linus Ullmark made 43 saves.
Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari scored for the Panthers, and Samuel Montembeault stopped 20 shots. The Panthers have lost two straight after winning their previous three. They have lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time this season.
Connolly’s power-play goal — on a shot from above the left circle — closed the gap to 4-2 at 3:08 of the third, but Girgensons countered with his second goal with 6:35 to go. Girgensons was able to push the puck into the corner of the net.
Eichel made it 3-0 at 3:42 of the second on a shot from the right circle that got by the screened Montembeault. Eichel has six goals and four assists in a five-game points streak.
The Panthers closed to 3-1 midway through the second on Acciari’s shot from the low slot.
Olofsson responded, taking a cross-ice pass from San Reinhart to the left circle and scoring with 5:19 left in the second.
Notes
Sabres C Evan Rodrigues left after 40 seconds of the first with an undisclosed injury and did not return. D Zach Bogosian made his season debut after off-season hip surgery. Assistant coach Don Granato returned to the team from a medical leave of absence since Oct. 1 due to pneumonia. Chris Taylor, who filled in for Granato, returned to Rochester of the AHL. … Panthers D Keith Yandle played his 821st consecutive game — the longest active run in the NHL — after missing part of Saturday night’s game at Carolina after getting hit in the face with a puck. D Riley Stillman was recalled from Springfield of the AHL on Saturday in case Yandle couldn’t play.
Up Next
Sabres: At Tampa Bay on Monday night.
Panthers: At Washington on Wednesday night.
Paul Gereffi, The Associated Press