The game was, to say the least, frustrating from a Florida standpoint. From the start, the Sabres seemed to be the more ready team, playing up-tempo, physical hockey, while the Florida Panthers couldn’t keep up.
The first goal was a testament to how the two teams open up, with Mike Matheson and Jared McCann losing out on the boards to Jeff Skinner, who simply would not be denied.
He skated past Denis Malgin, lost his footing, yet still smashed the puck off the bar and in past Roberto Luongo to open the scoring for Buffalo.