Panthers 2, Sabres 1 (SO)
Brad Boyes scored the tying goal midway through the third period before netting the only tally in the shootout as Florida halted Buffalo's five-game home winning streak.
Boyes followed a disallowed goal in the bonus format by teammate Jonathan Huberdeau by ripping a shot that caromed off both the post and goaltender Jhonas Enroth before entering the net to give the Panthers their third win in eight games (3-4-1). Tim Thomas made 23 saves and denied all three attempts in the shootout for Florida, which hit the post four times in the third period.
Defenseman Jamie McBain scored the lone goal for the Sabres, who ran their home point streak to eight games (6-0-2). Enroth, who has received 17 goals of support in his 13 starts, suffered his ninth consecutive defeat (0-6-3) despite a 34-save effort.
The Sabres, who had four days off after Tuesday's game against Carolina was postponed due to blizzard-like conditions, broke a scoreless deadlock 5:13 into the second period. Captain Steve Ott slid a pass to a trailing McBain in the high slot, and he snapped a shot off the inside of the left post for his third goal of the season.
Florida tied it at 9:16 of the third, when a rebound squirted out to the right faceoff circle for defenseman Tom Gilbert, who unleashed a slap shot that deflected off the skate of Boyes and into the net. Boyes appeared to score the go-ahead tally with just under seven minutes to play, but the goal was waved off when the whistle had blown due to an injury to Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Sabres named Tim Murray as their new GM on Thursday. Murray spent the last seven seasons as assistant GM of Ottawa and was a former director of scouting for the Panthers. ... McBain scored his first goal since Nov. 16 to halt a 16-game drought, while Ott's assist gave him eight points in his last eight games against Florida. ... Panthers D Brian Campbell, who spent parts of eight seasons with the Sabres, played in his 800th career game. ... Buffalo announced that the postponed game against Carolina will be made up on Feb. 25 - the final day of the 17-day break for the Winter Olympics.