Sabres find scoring touch in beating Cup champs for 1st win

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Sabres broke out of their scoring slump to tally their first win of the season, beating the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday night at KeyBank Center.

Jordan Greenway and Tage Thompson had goals 31 seconds apart in the first period, defensemen Henri Jokiharju and Mattias Samuelsson added to the lead in the second period, Alex Tuch buried one into an empty net, and the Sabres exceeded their scoring output from three losses to start the season in the 5-2 win. Devon Levi made 22 saves for Buffalo.

Florida, playing without captain Aleksander Barkov and Hart Trophy finalist Matthew Tkachuck, got goals from Nate Schmidt and Sam Bennett, while backup goaltender Spencer Knight made 22 saves.

The Sabres embark on a three-game road trip playing at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Columbus on Thursday and Chicago on Saturday, before returning for their next home game Oct. 22 against the Dallas Stars.

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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here .

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