The Buffalo Sabres want to tighten their hold on a playoff spot. The Florida Panthers are hoping to inch closer to postseason position. Each will look to do that when the Sabres face the Panthers on Friday in Sunrise, Fla.
Buffalo is coming off a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday in its first outing following the NHL’s hiatus for the Winter Olympics. The Sabres sit in the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot — five points clear of the first team on the wrong side of the cutoff line.
“We have something really good going here and I think every point, especially at this point in the season, going forward, is crucial for us,” Sabres forward Tage Thompson said. “Especially against teams in the East. … It was a big one (on Wednesday). It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we found a way to get it done.”
After a whirlwind few days with lots of travel and celebrations in the aftermath of winning a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics, Thompson joined his team for the morning skate on Wednesday. He then had a goal and an assist in 19:19 of ice time to extend his point streak to five games (three goals, three assists) and bring his season totals to 31 goals and 30 assists.
“It kind of shows the character of the guy and how bad he wants to help us win here,” teammate Peyton Krebs said.
Krebs has been filling in at left wing on the top line with Thompson and Alex Tuch in the absence of injured winger Zach Benson. The 25-year-old Krebs, whose tally against the Devils stood as the game-winner, has enjoyed a solid stretch of late after a slow start to the season. He also had an assist against New Jersey, giving him 11 points (five goals, six assists) over his past 12 games.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a 5-1 win against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday in their return to action, giving them two victories in the past three games. They scored three times in the first period before adding a pair of empty-net goals late in the third.
The result pulled Florida within eight points of the final Eastern Conference wild-card position, held by the Boston Bruins. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions are nine points behind Buffalo.
“Everybody understands what we need to do, and that’s very important,” goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said. “It’s a big win, it’s a big two points for us, but (Friday) is another biggest game of the year.”
Brad Marchand scored twice in the win to give him 27 goals on the season, tying him with Sam Reinhart for the team lead. Marchand has 52 points, second among the Panthers behind Reinhart’s 56.
“At the end of the day, the (standings) points are what matter, right?” Marchand said. “We did some good things, thought we played really well for having a few weeks off as a group. There are a few things we can work on, but great start.”
The Friday contest will be the last of four meetings between the Atlantic Division foes. Buffalo won the most recent tilt, 5-3 at Florida on Feb. 2, and is 2-1-0 in the season series.
–Field Level Media
