5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 4, Sabres 3

Make it two for the Florida Panthers.
Finding success right out of the gate, the Panthers picked up their second straight win to start their 2022-23 campaign with a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Saturday.
For just the third time in franchise, Florida has opened a season 2-0-0 on the road.
"I think all game we were really buying into the system that we've created here," Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said following the big road victory. "We want to be hard on pucks consistently the whole game and not really give them much space. We looked fast out there."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. WHITE'S MILESTONE

Colin White picked up a souvenir in Buffalo.
Getting the Panthers on the board against the Sabres, the 25-year-old forward recorded the 100th point of his NHL career when he took a pass from Eetu Luostarinen and blasted a one-timer from the high slot over Eric Comrie's glove to make it a 1-1 game late in the first period.
Joining the Panthers on a one-year contract this summer, White has produced a point in each of his first two contests while playing on a line with Luostarinen and Anton Lundell. Over the 13:40 that line has spent together at 5-on-5, Florida has led in both shots on goals (10-5) and goals (2-0).
"Colin's got two guys that can skate and make plays and defend," Maurice said. "He can think and he can move pucks and find holes, which was the goal. The other two guys are forechecking and he finds the right role, it's in the back of the net."
Facing off against his hometown Bruins, White will look to extend his point streak to three games when the Panthers wrap up their season-opening road trip in Boston on Monday.

2. TKACHUK'S IMPACT

It's safe to say the Sabres had their hands full with Matthew Tkachuk.
In addition to getting under the skin of both the fans and players in the arena, the high-impact forward also added a goal and an assist in the win to increase his team-high point total to three.
Showing off his elite skill around the blue paint, his goal came when he powered through a couple Sabres before poking a rebound past Comrie to make it 2-1 late in the first period.
"He's around everything, that man," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said when asked about Tkachuk's night. "He's involved, to say the least. That's his game. There's no show going on. That's just who he is. He's involved in every scrum, most of the hits, and a goal a game so far."
Through two games, Tkachuk has fired off a team-high 20 shot attempts. Of those attempts, nine -- also a team-leading mark -- have come from high-danger areas right around the crease.

3. LOOKING POWERFUL

After logging 16 scoring chances in Game 1, the power play was rewarded in Buffalo.
Helping the Panthers push their lead to 4-2, Ekblad and Brandon Montour each found the back on the net on the man advantage in the second period. Ekblad's snipe from the left circle made it 3-2 at 2:31, and then Montour cashed in on a rebound from the slot to make it 4-2 at 17:45.
"The power play had an awful lot of chances [against the New York Islanders on Thursday] and didn't score," Maurice said. "I thought they got faster here tonight, which is a really good sign, right? They didn't slow the game down."
Finishing 2-for-6 on the power play, the Panthers looked like they could've had even more goals with how frequently they fired the puck toward the net. Over the course of their six opportunities, they produced 24 shot attempts, eight high-danger shot attempts and 14 scoring chances.
"We had two power-play goals tonight and did fairly well on the PK," Ekblad said of the special teams battle. "How were we able to execute? Just playing with speed like we do with our 5-on-5 game. That's kind of the mindset that we want to have, just attack the net and give up nothing."
While it's still obviously very early, it's worth pointing out that Florida's 144.64 shot attempts per 60 minutes on the power play so far this season ranks third in the NHL behind only the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

4. KNIGHT SAYS NAY

Only two games into the season and we have a candidate for save of the year.
Showing off his reaction time and lateral movement, Spencer Knight sucked the air right out of the building and sent fans back into their seats when he pushed across the crease just in time to rob Jeff Skinner of what looked a guaranteed goal from the doorstep in the second period.
Humble as ever, Knight believes a save is a save no matter how nice it looks.
"Honestly, it's just one of those things where the guy made a great play to him to put it backdoor and it was a good shot," the 21-year-old goaltender said. "It's just desperation mode at that point. You don't really think. I don't really think about it. It's just another save."
Making his first start of the season, Knight made 24 saves against the Sabres, with his stop on Skinner standing as one of his four high-danger saves. Still in the very early stages of his budding career, he's already found a lot of success against Buffalo, going 4-0-0 over four strong starts.

5. SHUTTING IT DOWN

The most-impressive thing about Florida's win might've been the finish.
Entering the third period with a 4-3 lead, the Panthers clamped down on defense and surrendered just five shots on goal and 10 shot attempts over the final 20 minutes.
In that time, they also killed off an extended 5-on-3 power play for Buffalo. After Jeff Skinner recorded a shot at 14:54 of the period, the Sabres didn't register another shot on goal until Dylan Cozens finally managed to get a puck to Knight with 1:48 left on the clock.
"I thought we got stronger in the defensive parts of the game as the game went," Maurice said. "The last 10 minutes -- from the 5-on-3 kill straight until the end of the game -- we played our best defensive hockey."
\All advanced statistics courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com*