Sabres 4, Panthers 3 (SO)
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville scored shootout goals to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers Thursday night at the BB&T Center.
The Sabres, who had gone four straight games without getting three goals, scored that many in the first period. But they gave up a 3-2 lead on a goal by Brian Campbell with just 1:26 left in regulation.
From the second period on, Buffalo killed three straight penalties. Through regulation, the Panthers outshot the Sabres 39-24.
The Sabres, who have yet to put together a three-game win streak this season, have now won two in a row for the third time. They entered Thursday in last place in the Eastern Conference but moved past Washington and tied Florida with the win.
With the win, Sabres goalie Ryan Miller improved his record this season to 8-10.
Among a long list of slumping Sabres forwards this season had been center Nathan Gerbe, who had gone scoreless in 16 games. But Gerbe broke out with a two-goal first period.
Buffalo improved to 5-6 on the road, which is better than its 3-6-1 mark at home.
Florida is now 3-5-3 at home and had to lift its goalie for the second straight game. On Tuesday, Jose Theodore was out after allowing four goals in two periods. On Thursday, Scott Clemmensen was pulled after letting three get past him in the first period.
The Panthers also concluded their three-game homestand with a 1-2 record.
Meanwhile, the Panthers lost defenseman Mike Weaver to a lower-body injury in the first period. He did not return but no announcement was made about his long-term prognosis.
Gerbe opened the scoring with 6:30 elapsed in the first. He came streaking down the right side, stopped suddenly, faked a shot and then finally fired a wrister past Clemmensen.
With 11 minutes gone in the first, the Sabres got a power-play goal, taking advantage of a hooking penalty on Panthers rookie Drew Shore.
Buffalo's Tyler Ennis cashed in with his seventh goal of the season, skating in alone from the right slot.
Shore, though, earned redemption with his own power-play goal, putting the Panthers on the board with 14:24 gone in an active first period. Dmitry Kulikov's hard slapshot caromed off the boards out in front to Campbell, and Shore cleaned up with his second goal of the season.
The Panthers tied the score, 2-2, less than a minute later on a great hustle play by Marcel Goc, who swept in behind the net to retrieve the puck and eventually worked his way out in front for the goal.
Gerbe then chased Clemmensen with his goal at 16:46 of the first period.
NOTES: After attending his grandmother's funeral in Toronto and missing Tuesday's win over the Penguins, Panthers' top-line center Stephen Weiss returned to the lineup. With Weiss back, Scott Timmons was returned to Florida's AHL affiliate in San Antonio. ... Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold, who has not played since Feb. 17 due to an upper-body injury, was one of three Buffalo scratches. The others were defenseman T.J. Brennan and winger Marcus Foligno. ... The Panthers' two healthy scratches were winger Alex Kovalev and defenseman Colby Robak. ... Panthers' defenseman Filip Kuba, who missed two games due to an upper-body injury, returned to the lineup Thursday. ... Injured Panthers forwards Kris Versteeg (upper body) and Scottie Upshall (ankle) practiced Wednesday and are close to returning. ... Entering Thursday, the Sabres had several slumping forwards, most notably Jochen Hecht (no goals in 20 games). ... Up next, the Panthers hit the road to play Carolina on Saturday. Carolina then plays at the Panthers on Sunday to complete the home and home. ... The Sabres go home to host New Jersey on Saturday.
