Anderson makes 49 saves for Sabres in win against Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Craig Anderson made 49 saves for the Buffalo Sabres in a 3-1 win against the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena on Friday.

The 41-year-old, the oldest active player in the NHL, made 22 saves in the third period for his first win since Jan. 23.
"You just kind of start worrying about just the next shot, and whatever the shot clock got to, it got to," Anderson said. "That's about as good a game as I've played in a while and as good mentally as far as being sharp and being in the moment. That's always tough to do is to stay in the moment and tonight was one of those nights where I was able to do it."
Jeff Skinner scored twice to reach 600 points, and Tage Thompson had three assists for the Sabres (30-23-4), who have won four of five, including a 6-5 overtime win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, when Thompson had a hat trick.
"That's a huge win, huge couple of wins," Skinner said. "But I think for us with a big win last night in sort of an emotional way, to follow it up again the next night against a really good team that's playing really well and playing hard, it was nice to see. Hopefully it gives us some confidence moving forward because that's kind of going to be the level for us down the stretch here and we have to bring that every night."

Anthony Duclair had an assist in his season debut for the Panthers (29-26-6), who have alternated wins and losses in their past eight games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves.
Duclair had been on long term injured reserve while recovering from an Achilles injury in the offseason. He finished with four shots and five hits in 17:26 of ice time.
"I was just trying to find my legs in the first, felt better in the second and by the third I was pretty comfortable," Duclair said. "It was just a question of timing and finding chemistry. All in all, after being out for seven months, I think I should be proud of myself."
Skinner gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the second period on a give-and-go with Thompson.
After Skinner fed him in the slot, Thompson deked defenseman Aaron Ekblad to his backhand and fed the puck back to Skinner on the wing.
"He's dominant," Skinner said about Thompson. "With his size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) and his ability to draw guys to him, obviously, he draws a lot of attention now with the production he's had and that opens guys up, opens linemates up for him, and he does a great job finding us. "
Buffalo appeared to take a 2-0 lead at 6:30 on a goal by Henri Jokiharju, but it was nullified when video review determined Alex Tuch preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
Tuch made it 2-0 at 8:44 with a power-play goal with a shot from the slot after Owen Power one-timed him a pass from the point. It was Tuch's fourth goal in five games.Carter Verhaeghe cut it to 2-1 at 8:24 of the third period with a shot from the right face-off circle after taking a pass from Duclair.
"This was a huge home game and it is really disappointing to have the first two periods like that," Verhaeghe said. "It [stinks]. We're in a playoff push and there is nothing we can do about it now. We have to be ready moving forward."
Skinner made it 3-1 at 10:36 with a shot from a sharp angle over Bobrovsky's right shoulder for his 600th NHL point.

Anderson shut the door the rest of the way.
"Outstanding," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "He makes it look easy as well. Reads plays, reads shooters, obviously he knows how we play and knows the pre-scout of how they're going to play and what's going to come at him. And you can see the calm as a result. He was calm through the entire thing and extremely, extremely efficient in his saves and his postures. A big night for him."
NOTES:Thompson (four goals, five assists) and Skinner (four goals, four assists) each extended his point streak to five games. … Skinner joined Tyler Seguin and Taylor Hall as the third member of the 2010 NHL Draft class to reach 600 points. … Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons played his 600th NHL game. … The Panthers were missing their top two centers, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett, each out with an injury. … Panthers forward Zac Dalpe had one hit in 5:10 in his first game since Jan. 1 after being recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Friday.