MIAMI — The Florida Panthers have plundered the Buffalo Sabres for key contributors to help build a Stanley Cup contender in the last year and made their return to Western New York on Monday, for the most part, a good one.
Brandon Montour, who played parts of three seasons for the Sabres before the Panthers dealt for him ahead of the trade deadline last year, scored the opening goal on Florida’s first shot in the first period. Sam Reinhart, whom Buffalo took second overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and traded to the Panthers in the offseason, had a second-period assist while Florida pulled away for a 6-1 win. Spencer Knight even came 6:18 away from a shutout in his return to the NHL after more than a month in the American Hockey League, making things easy on the Panthers during an uncharacteristic slow start.
The only blemish was a first-period injury scare for Anton Lundell, who jammed his left leg against the boards after a legal check and did not return with a lower-body injury. The center, who has emerged as a contender for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie, got pushed from behind and went feet first into the boards behind the Sabres’ net, and was clearly hobbled as he left the ice, although there was no specification about the potential severity of the injury.
