The Florida Panthers have a real problem on their hands tonight against the host Buffalo Sabres.
Buffalo comes into tonight’s game with wins in 13 of the past 14 games — the most wins during a 14-game stretch in franchise history.
The Sabres are tied for the top wild-card spot and are four points back to Tampa Bay for third in the Atlantic Division.
The Panthers, coming off a 3-2 win in Ottawa, are three points back of the Sabres.
“They played a pretty good game last time we came up here,” Paul Maurice said, referencing a 3-0 loss in October. “Any team in the NHL gets that confidence in their game where everything happens faster, the puck moves quicker, the reaction time is right on. They’re feeling good. They come to the rink full of hope and excitement.
“When you’re not, you’re slow and we have been trying to work our way through that a little bit.’’
Florida will again be without Brad Marchand, who misses his third straight after leaving Tuesday’s game in Toronto after the second period.
Matthew Tkachuk will also not return tonight.
The Panthers will hold a practice Wednesday at the IcePlex before resuming the six-game road trip in Carolina, so, it is possible both return against the Hurricanes.
NOTES: PANTHERS AT SABRES
Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff will become just the third coach in NHL history to have coached 1,900 or more games tonight. Ruff, an assistant on Florida’s 1996 Stanley Cup Final team, joins Maurice (1,974) and Scotty Bowman (2,141) on that list.
Starting Goalies: Sergei Bobrovsky makes his fourth start of the road trip for the Panthers after a strong performance Saturday in Ottawa. The Sabres will go with backup Colten Ellis.
How to Watch/Stream: The Panthers are back on local television tonight but also on NHL Network. To stream, use Panthers+ locally or ESPN+ nationally.
NHL Betting Odds: The Sabres are a slight favorite (-120) on the money line at the local book. To win with Buffalo, a $120 bet wins $100. To cash with Florida (+100), a $100 wins $100.
ON DECK: GAME No. 45
FLORIDA PANTHERS at BUFFALO SABRES
PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS (23-18-3) LINES
27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 13 Sam Reinhart
23 Carter Verhaeghe // 9 Sam Bennett // 10 A.J. Greer
95 Sandis Vilmanis // 17 Evan Rodrigues // 11 Mackie Samoskevich
70 Jesper Boqvist // 71 Luke Kunin // 53 Jack Studnicka
42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad
77 Niko Mikkola // 26 Uvis Balinskis
6 Donovan Sebrango // 2 Jeff Petry
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
40 Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Toby Bjornfot, Noah Gregor
Injured: Brad Marchand (lower body), Seth Jones (upper body), Sasha Barkov (knee), Matthew Tkachuk (lower body), Tomas Nosek (knee), Dmitry Kulikov (shoulder), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body), Cole Schwindt (broken arm)
PROJECTED BUFFALO SABRES (24-15-4) LINES
19 Peyton Krebs // 72 Tage Thompson // 91 Josh Doan
17 Jason Zucker // 9 Josh Norris // 89 Alex Tuch
6 Zach Benson // 71 Ryan McLeod // 22 Jack Quinn
12 Jordan Greenway // 44 Josh Dunne // 29 Beck Malenstyn
23 Mattias Samuelsson // 26 Rasmus Dahlin
4 Bowen Byram // 25 Owen Power
78 Jacob Bryson // 73 Zach Metsa
92 Colten Ellis
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Scratched: Noah Ostlund, Tyson Kozak, Zac Jones
Injured: Michael Kesselring (lower body), Alex Lyon (lower body), Conor Timmins (broken leg), Jiri Kulich (blood clot), Justin Danforth (lower body)
