In Sunrise, Sean Bennett scored with 38 seconds left in regulation to give the Panthers a 4-3 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. 
It was Bennett’s 100th career NHL goal.
“Obviously, first and foremost, getting a game-winning goal is the most important,” Bennett said. “And getting to 100 is a great feeling as well.”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 19 saves in the Florida win.
The Panthers moved to 50-15-6.
The Sabres took a 1-0 lead in the game off a strike from Victor Olofsson .
Sam Reinhart and Claude Giroux also scored for Florida.
“The start wasn’t ideal,” Florida coach Andrew Brunette said. “We kind of felt our way through the first period a little bit. I thought we started taking over in the second. A little concerning getting down 3-1, I don’t think we played poorly, but maybe not the level we normally play.”
Buffalo took a 3-1 lead in the game off goals from Mark Pysyk and Jeff Skinner .
“I thought our first was right what we needed to do,” Buffalo coach Don Granato said. “We were aggressive, we were assertive. The pace of the game was unbelievable. Then we [had] a little naïveté. We thought we would start swinging pucks around and playing a little carefree and chased the game the whole second period.”
Patric Hornqvist also scored for the Panthers, his goal cut the Sabres lead to 3-2 lead in the middle frame.
Dustin Tokarski made 39 saves in the loss.
“[Tokarski] had a great effort,” Buffalo coach Don Granato said. “He’s a competitor. He elevates. I do feel bad for Tokarski. I feel bad for all our guys. But we said we want the other team’s best because it’s the only way for us to grow. Unfortunately, there’s a component of development that you need hardship.”

You must be logged in to post a comment.