RECAP: Tkachuk, Bobrovsky shine as Panthers open trip with win in Buffalo

Matthew Tkachuk dished out three assists and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves as the Florida Panthers opened their trip with a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Monday.
Winning five of their last seven games, the Panthers now sit at 21-20-4.
"We built trust in each other, trust in the system," said Bobrovsky, who has started 15 of the last 19 games for the Panthers. "We just work hard, compete hard. We have a tough schedule, but it doesn't matter for us. We're just working hard for each other and working for those two points."

Opening the scoring against his former team, Brandon Montour, who suited up in Buffalo from 2018-21, slid down from the blue line, picked up some loose change in front of the net and fired a shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 4:01 of the first period.
Earning an assist on the goal, Tkachuk extended his point streak to seven games.
"You've obviously just got to pick your spots, especially against a team like this that's fast and skilled," Montour said. "They cheat for offense. There was just a play there where I found an open lane, and Chucky found a lane to get it to me. I got the rebound and it was good."
Keeping up the pressure in the second period, the Panthers added to their lead when a pass from Carter Verhaeghe deflected off Tkachuk in the slot right onto the stick of Sam Bennett, who then beat Luukkonen with a nice shot from the right circle to make it 2-0 at 8:04.
Through two periods, Florida led 29-16 in shots on goal.
"Sergei made a bunch of really important saves, and then I thought we played a smart game in the third," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "We didn't give up anything on the odd-man out. There was 10 minutes in the first where it was loose, but after that we were pretty tight."
Just 34 seconds into the third period, the Panthers gave themselves more breathing room when Sam Reinhart teed up Anton Lundell for a one-timer with sweet dish on a 2-on-1 rush to make it 3-0.

"I thought that goal by Lundy at the beginning of the third was a huge moment for us," Tkachuk said. "It allowed us to continue to play our game for the rest of the third."
Not going down without a fight, the Sabres, who entered the matchup with the top-ranked offense in the NHL with an average of 3.85 goals per game, finally got the board when Alex Tuch somehow managed to sneak a short-side shot past Bobrovsky to make it 3-1 at 11:27.
But that would be the lone blemish on another strong start for Bobrovsky.
Finishing with 28 saves -- including stopping 12 of 13 over the final 20 minutes to stifle any would-be comeback attempt for Buffalo -- Bobrovsky was outstanding from start to finish. Of those 28 saves, seven were considered high-danger by NaturalStatTrick.com.
Putting a bow on a great afternoon, Carter Verhaeghe took a pass from Tkachuk and tossed the puck down the ice into the empty net to make it 4-1 with his 20th goal of the season at 18:22.
"We got what we came to get -- two points," Lundell said. "I think we played really good today. Bob was good again. Overall, we did a lot of good things. We played really, really good as a team. We can see on the scoreboard, too. Just one goal for them."

CATS QUOTES

"Opportunity, the belief from my coaches and my teammates, and just enjoying the game. I'm having fun. I have confidence in my ability to make plays in the offensive zone, but obviously take care of my own end first. Things are going good so far." - Brandon Montour on his breakout season
"It feels like we've been looking for a way to play for a long time, and now we're trying to find a way and it seems like we've been able to find a way to win games and how to play when we lead the games. There's a lot of good things we're doing right now. We just need to keep going." - Anton Lundell on Florida's current run of consistency
"It's his first run of the year where he's getting a bunch of games. He's into a good rhythm. We need that kind of goaltending. He's battling in the net. He's a little bit acrobatic and intense. The guys like that. It looks good from the bench. He's making big saves and everyone's rallying around him." - Paul Maurice on Sergei Bobrovsky

CATS NOTES

• Matthew Tkachuk has recorded 44 multi-point games since the start of the 2021-22 season.
  - Netting the 50th goal of his career, Brandon Montour joined teammate Aaron Ekblad (104) as the only two defensemen that came out of the 2014 NHL Draft to hit that lofty mark so far.
  - Sixteen of 18 skaters recorded at least one shot on goal for the Panthers.
  - Marc Staal blocked a team-high three shots.
  - Eric Staal went 11-for-18 (61.1%) in the faceoff circle.
  - Josh Mahura posted a team-high 69.23 CF% at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
  - Florida went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill while surrendering just two shots on goal.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Panthers (21-20-4) will head into Canada to close out their back-to-back with a matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs (26-11-7) at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.
The official watch party will be at Tin Roof in Delray Beach.