Banged-up Florida Panthers play textbook hockey in Buffalo

Buffalo arrived on a heater, stacking 13 wins in its last 14, so beating them carried real weight. Florida kept its structure, moved in sync through all three zones, and shut down the kind of loose, run-and-gun game the Sabres love.

With the roster banged up, A.J. Greer (2G) sliding up the lineup felt like a stress test, and he passed it with confidence. Greer, 29, was drafted 39th overall in 2015, and he's playing this season on an $850,000 cap hit that looks like robbery when he's rolling.

As a Panthers fan, I'm proud because this looked like a team that knows exactly what it is.

Greer didn't play safe, he played direct, hunted pucks, got inside, and actually finished chances, which is not easy when you're jumping into new linemates. The Sam Bennett line set the tone in Buffalo with pressure shifts that forced resets and kept the Sabres defending.

On the back end, Niko Mikkola gave Florida that steady, grown-up look, taking on a lot of work without turning it into an adventure. The puck management was cleaner, and the details felt intentional, not lucky.

And when Buffalo finally pushed, Sergei Bobrovsky was there for the moments that decide games, square, patient, and never chasing. That's the version Florida needs when the lineup is held together with tape and willpower.

The win matters because it's the kind that can stabilize a road swing, especially with key names still missing time. Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk have both been out, so nights like this have to be about everyone pulling the same rope.

Now the best part, the Panthers finally get a breath in the schedule, and Paul Maurice can reset the group while bodies heal. If Florida keeps playing one-purpose hockey like this, the standings chase starts feeling a lot less scary.

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