BUFFALO — Noah Ostlund scored the go-ahead goal on the power play 7:15 into the third period as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Florida Panthers 5-3 on Monday in Buffalo in a game both teams lost key players to injury. With the game tied at 3, Ostlund tapped in Zach Benson's pass through the crease for the winner in an outing Buffalo never trailed.
Buffalo also got goals from Tage Thompson, Josh Doan, Ryan McLeod and captain Rasmus Dahlin, who scored his second goal of the season. Sam Reinhart scored twice for Florida and Anton Lundell also scored, while Brady Tkachuk recorded his first point with the Panthers with an assist on Reinhart's second goal. Reinhart tied the game at 2 by poking in a loose puck that dribbled into the crease behind the goalie.
The Sabres lost Dahlin to an upper-body injury early in the second period and he did not return. The Panthers lost starting goalie Jacob Markstrom, who did not return after allowing two goals on 11 shots in the first period and was replaced by Akira Schmid, who allowed three goals on 21 shots. For Buffalo, starter Colten Ellis allowed two goals on nine shots before being pulled at 6:25 of the second period, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned the win in relief after allowing one goal on 14 shots.
Buffalo converted two of five power-play opportunities after opening the season 1 of 17, while Florida went two of four after entering 1 of 28. Florida (2-2-2) has dropped two straight following a 4-1 home-opening loss to Minnesota on Saturday. The Panthers travel to play Columbus on Tuesday night, while the Sabres play at Montreal on Tuesday night to follow a five-game homestand.