Panthers Shut Out Sabres

     The Florida Panthers blanked the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday night. The Panthers are currently first in the Atlantic Division and concluded an undefeated five-game homestand. The Sabres have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for an NHL-record 13 consecutive seasons. Florida will begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday in Boston. 

     The Panthers collected their second straight shutout and third in the last four games. Vitek Vanecek picked up a shutout in his debut with the club following his acquisition from the San Jose Sharks. The Cats extended their winning streak to six games while Buffalo(24-32-6) has been winless in their past six contests.

     Florida(40-21-3) got out to a 1-0 lead as A.J. Greer chalked up his sixth goal of the year when he tapped it in from the blue paint at the 7:20 mark of the first period. 

     The Panthers added two more goals in the second period. Carter Verhaeghe made it 2-0 at 9:32 with a snap shot from the high slot for his 17th goal of the campaign. Anton Lundell increased it to 3-0 with 2:51 left in the second period when he steered it in from the right goal line for his 15th goal this season. 

     The Cats completed the shutout 4-0 during the third period. Sam Bennett fired the puck into an empty net from the left wing with 33.6 seconds remaining for his 20th goal of the season. It was the third time in Bennett's NHL career that he reached the 20-goal mark.