Panthers Down Sabres, Dominate In Five-Game Homestand

SUNRISE, FL – The Florida Panthers didn’t play around in the finale of their homestand at the Amerant Bank Arena, downing the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 3-0.

Featuring new players added to the mix, the Cats didn’t lose their rhythm, shutting down Buffalo’s offense while cleaning up the mess on the other side of the ice.

“We’re probably the freshest team in the National Hockey League, which is going to change here in about two weeks,” said head coach Paul Maurice postgame. “We’ve got a brutal April, but we paid for that by dragging our butts through November and December. It’s a hard, hard schedule. I’ve got some guys here that have gone an entire month, and they’ve been out of town once, and it was a one-off in Nashville. So we’ve got a good jump right now, and that’s going to change. We’re going to look a little different come April.”

Can’t Play Down To The Competition

This homestand for the Panthers has featured solid wins over playoff-caliber teams like Edmonton, Tampa Bay, and Columbus. In comparison, the Sabres are in last place in the Atlantic Division. If you asked their GM, the lack of palm trees and high taxes in Western New York might be the reason.

Still, Florida couldn’t play down to their competition, who entered this game on a five-game skid. Despite losing to Tampa Bay a few days earlier, they knocked in five goals against the Lightning. It was up to the defense to stop a repeat performance, and they delivered.

GREER GOES GREEN! 🍀

The Panthers get on the board off a wrister from AJ Greer behind the goalie!

FLA – 1
BUF – 0

12:29 to go in the first! #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/tQSkgaDsjn

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) March 8, 2025

Swift might be a good way to describe the game. It flew by, thanks to a lack of penalties and offensive success for Buffalo. The first period saw a goal for AJ Greer. Off a pair of shots on goal by Nate Schmidt, Greer positioned himself on the opposite side of the net where the puck trickled down to. Greer took out the trash, tipping the puck in for the early lead.

Putting The Sabres In “Cek”

The second period was not kind to the Sabres. After nine minutes of a standstill, the Panthers doubled their lead. With extended traffic in front of the net, Carter Verhaeghe sniped a snapshot that no one saw coming for another goal.

A little while later, Florida kept their foot on the gas and raised the lead to 3-0. Anton Lundell took a page out of Greer’s playbook, standing in line on the opposite side of the net waiting for a stray puck. It eventually went his way following a blocked backhander from Schmidt, and Lundell capitalized on it.

Hear from Panthers goaltender Vitek Vanecek following Florida's 4-0 win over Buffalo. 🐈#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/wnEn84dqVX

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) March 9, 2025

While all of this was going on, Buffalo’s rush was almost nonexistent, thanks to Florida’s forecheck. Any breakaways they did get were blocked away by defensemen like Gustav Forsling or Aaron Ekblad or saved at the net by Vitek Vanecek. One of the newcomers from San Jose, Vanecek was cool and collected, making 21 saves and securing a shutout in his first start for Florida.

One empty-netter from Sam Bennett later, and the Panthers go undefeated in their five-game homestand and are on a six-game heater. They’ll now head on the road for a six-game East Coast road trip, starting in Boston against the Bruins on Tuesday, March 11th at 7pm.