BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@allwnynews.com
BUFFALO — Buffalo Sabres captain Brian Gionta was honored before tonight’s game — it being his 1,000th of his NHL career. It that honor wasn’t enough, scoring his 15th goal of the season had to sweeten the deal.
Gionta was one of four Sabres to score and one of nine to get a point in their 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at KeyBank Center.
The Sabres cruised to a 3-0 lead with goals by Ryan O’Reilly and Zach Bogosian in the first period and then Gionta’s in the third. Florida made it 3-1 on the power play mid-way through the second period before Marcus Foligno tallied his 13th of the season to give Buffalo a 4-1 edge at 15:08 of the second. The Panthers scored again a minute later to bring them back within two goals, but they would get no closer.
Sabres assists went to Jack Eichel (2), Dmitri Kulikov, Zemgus Girgensons, Matt Moulson (2), and Sam Reinhart.
With the win, Buffalo improves to 32-32-12 for 76 points with six games remaining.
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