The Florida Panthers came into Friday night's game in Buffalo optimistic things would start to turn around. If this was the start, then there may be plenty to look forward to for Florida Panthers fans. While this was only one game, the Panthers reached down and brought something extra to the table in terms of their offensive awareness, the way the defense clicked, and most importantly, they competed all the way around.

The Cats brought high energy from the opening faceoff and finally showed what is expected out of them. Minus netting goals, each player played their roles to a tee in Friday's game. The scorers were generating offensive opportunities, the checking liners, penalty killers played smart and generated the only goal, the defense seemed exceptional at times, and Roberto Luongo stopped every shot that came his way. This recipe led to the Panthers earning their first win of the young season as well as head coach Gerard Gallant earning his first W as the Panthers' bench boss.

The Panthers dominated the opening frame, having almost exclusive control of the puck except for a penalty, which they killed. They outshot the Sabres 16 to three and had tremendous possession stats. It was a broken play along the half wall that led to a loose puck, which was jumped on by Sean Bergenheim for the game's only goal at 3:01 of the second period. The rest of the way, there were close calls on each side, numerous power-play opportunities, and even a 5-on-3 for the Sabres in the third, none of which would be converted.

Coming into this game, many around the hockey universe were excited to see the first and second overall picks in the 2014 draft faceoff for the first time. Aaron Ekblad has been trending upwards so far in his four NHL games, while Sam Reinhart has appeared to move the opposite direction. Ekblad had one shot on goal and played stellar defence in 20:28 of ice time paired with former Sabre Brian Campbell, who himself looked to have his best overall game of the year. Reinhart only saw 7:09 of ice time and was blanked on the score sheet but was 60% on faceoffs.

The Panthers seemed to have everyone's motors running in this game. Tomas Fleischmann attempted numerous shots, though only one of them made it on goal, which was a prime opportunity after a giveaway in the low slot. He was moving his feet well and managed to not turn the puck over at all in addition to his many shots. Nick Bjugstad rebounded after last game, as he managed to steer a game-high six shots on net and used his big body to create scoring chances for those around him, he was also 57% in the faceoff circle. Sean Bergenheim for the Panthers and Matt Moulson for Buffalo had 5 shots on goal. Scottie Upshall and Jimmy Hayes, who was playing on the top line Friday night, managed to each have four shots. Jonathan Huberdeau played well, putting three shots on net, but having quite a few scoring chances. Roberto Luongo earned his 67th career shutout with 26 saves.

The only issues the Panthers had on this night were the remaining lack of discipline possessed by the team, and the lack of goal scoring. The Panthers gave the Sabres five power play opportunities, one penalty was taken in the offensive zone, and one led to the 5-on-3. In addition, no team can bank on winning 1-0 games at any level in any sport, while the effort level was much improved tonight, the Panthers need to find a way to translate that into goals. The Panthers will hop over to Washington D.C. to face the Capitals on Saturday in their first of 12 back-to-backs of the season. Expect Al Montoya to get the start in the nation's capital, his only appearance in a Panther uniform came during the home opener when he stopped all ten shots he saw through 37 minutes of play in relief of Luongo.

Dave Bolland left the game late with a lower body injury.

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About the author
Ethan Goldsmith
NHL, MLB fan. South Florida