Anderson makes 53 saves, Skinner powers Sabres past Panthers 3-1

By James On Feb 25, 2023

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jeff Skinner scored twice and Craig Anderson made 53 saves against his former team to lead the Buffalo Sabers to a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Friday.

Anderson, 41, spent three seasons with the Panthers (2006-09) and still makes his home just a few miles north of their stadium. He helped Buffalo to 64 points and a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with Detroit and Florida.

The Sabers haven’t been to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2011, the longest drought in the NHL.

Buffalo also got a power play goal from Alex Tuch, and Tage Thompson had three assists.

Carter Verhaeghe scored his 31st of the season for the Panthers, who were without their two main centers in Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett due to injuries. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves in the loss.

Buffalo, coming off an overtime victory at Tampa Bay on Thursday night, took the lead at 3:51 of the second period when Skinner found himself alone in the right side of the net and scored on Thompson’s pass.

The Sabers made it 2-0 on Tuch’s goal, which came two minutes after Buffalo had a goal deducted from the score due to a video review showing Tuch to be offside.

Florida finally got the better of Anderson at 8:24 of the third period when Verhaeghe received a cross from Anthony Duclair and fired a shot from the right circle.

Skinner got his second of the night and 24th of the season about two minutes later to give his team breathing room again with a tough angled shot from the goal line to beat Bobrovsky.

NOTES: For the first time this season, the Panthers had Duclair in their lineup. He had been out since he underwent Achilles tendon surgery in July. … With Barkov and Bennett out, Florida recalled Grigori Denisenko and Zac Dalpe from their AHL team in Charlotte. Denisenko had been sent to Charlotte on Wednesday to help free up cap space for Duclair. … Florida goaltender Spencer Knight will be out of the team indefinitely after entering the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. … The Panthers also placed Givani Smith on long-term injured reserve after he was struck in the face by a puck Monday against Anaheim. … The Sabers made healthy scratches to Rasmus Asplund, Jacob Bryson and Eric Comrie.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

Sabers: Host the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon.

Panthers: Visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.