Panthers Lose Road Game After Sabres Rally in Buffalo

The Florida Panthers suffered a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, as defensive mistakes and Buffalo power-play scoring led Florida to its second straight regulation defeat, according to thehockeynews.com. Florida opened a two-game road trip by falling behind four times before the Sabres secured the victory. According to thehockeynews.com, the Panthers entered the game with a 2-2-2 record after earning points in their first four games of the season.

Buffalo scored first at 5:58 of the opening period when Josh Doan converted a rush chance after blocking Gustav Forsling's attempted dump. According to thehockeynews.com, Jacob Markstrom stopped nine of 11 shots before Florida changed goaltenders for the second period.

The Panthers answered through Anton Lundell, who tied the game at 1 after Aaron Ekblad's point shot created a rebound opportunity. According to thehockeynews.com, Florida later improved its power play after struggling with a 1-for-28 record entering the game.

Sam Reinhart produced two power-play goals for Florida during the contest. According to thehockeynews.com, Reinhart tied the game at 2 after finishing a rebound from Seth Jones' shot and later made it 3-3 following a pass from Brady Tkachuk. Buffalo regained control in the third period with a power-play goal at the 7:15 mark and added an insurance goal from Tage Thompson 6:05 later. According to thehockeynews.com, the Sabres' final 5-3 score remained unchanged.

Both teams changed starting goaltenders during the game. According to thehockeynews.com, Akira Schmid replaced Markstrom for Florida in the second period, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen replaced Colton Ellis for Buffalo after Reinhart's first power-play goal. The Panthers were scheduled to continue their trip Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, with puck drop set for 6:15 p.m. during the NHL's annual Frozen Frenzy event, according to thehockeynews.com.