Fansided

Breaking down the Buffalo Sabres rivals – Florida Panthers

By Sion Fawkes |
May 9, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-tying goal against the Washington Capitals in the third period in game four of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 9, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-tying goal against the Washington Capitals in the third period in game four of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Sabres will face a tough task on Saturday against a rough, tough Florida Panthers team that won the Presidents’ Trophy last year. 

The Buffalo Sabres started off their 2022-23 the right way with an upset win over the Ottawa Senators last night. Goaltender Craig Anderson earned the First Star in what was a legendary performance for the 41-year-old, and J.J. Peterka also showed up big.

Now, the Sabres will face a strong Florida Panthers team that pulled off a spectacular trade for Matthew Tkachuk this past offseason. They do have a new coach, however, in Paul Maurice, and they will be down a defenseman in this one, with Anthony Duclair sidelined.

And looking at the Panthers roster, you will see that, next to Tkachuk and a few other assets, that this team looks close to what it looked like last season, which could spell trouble for the Sabres. Keep reading for takes on three players that will concern me the most in tomorrow’s outing.

Buffalo Sabres vs. Panthers: Three players to watch

How did Matthew Tkachuk spend his debut with the Panthers? Scoring an empty-net goal to ice the game for his new team. It will be one of many goals you will see from Tkachuk this season after he put up 42 of them and 104 total points in 2021-22. On Thursday, the Sabres minimized his brother’s effectiveness, so let’s see if they make it two-for-two on Saturday.

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov got off to a rough start in Thursday’s win over the New York Islanders, but it won’t make him any less effective going forward. Sure, he gave the puck away twice and won just 43% of his faceoffs. But you can expect a better version of Barkov this weekend.

The Buffalo Sabres got one to pick with Sam Reinhart, who they went 0-4 against last season. While the Sabres and the Sabres faithful were busy laughing at Jack Eichel, Reinhart was busy laughing at the Sabres. And that is not okay. 

Related Story. 3 Sabres on the rise following win against Ottawa. light

While Reinhart had a quiet game on Thursday, look for him to play with more of an edge as he makes yet another return to the KeyBank Center. This time, let’s see if the Sabres can spoil the latest homecoming.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

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