Sabres 5, Panthers 3: Ostlund Breaks It After Dahlin Leaves

October 12, 2026 - Buffalo - Rasmus Dahlin had already scored. Then he took a slap shot from the edge of the right circle at 3:29 of the second, headed down the tunnel, and never came back. KeyBank Center still got a 5-3 win. Noah Ostlund broke a 3-3 game on the power play in the third.

The Buffalo Sabres beat the Florida Panthers 5-3. Buffalo is 3-3-0 after two straight losses. Florida is 2-2-2 and has lost four of five (1-2-2), the NHL recap said. Shots were 32-23 Buffalo. Attendance was 19,070.

Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist. Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn, and Owen Power each had two assists. Josh Doan and Ryan McLeod scored. Ostlund's goal was the fourth. Sam Reinhart scored twice. Anton Lundell scored. Brady Tkachuk got his first point with Florida. Ostlund and Colten Ellis are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 13 of 14 after entering in the second. Ellis allowed two goals on nine shots. Jacob Markstrom allowed two on 11 in the first. Akira Schmid stopped 18 of 21 in relief.

Dahlin roofs one, then he is gone

Doan opened it at 5:58 of the first. Krebs found him on the rush at Florida's blue line. Doan took it to the right circle and beat Markstrom with a wrist shot. First of the season, the NHL recap said. 1-0.

Lundell tied it at 11:00. Ellis made a chest save and lost the rebound. Lundell won the battle in the right circle and slipped it between the pads. 1-1.

Dahlin made it 2-1 on the power play at 15:55. One-timer from above the slot, high blocker. Second of the season. Then the second period started, and the slap shot from that right circle ended his night. Ruff told NHL.com it is day to day. They can treat him better in Buffalo. He does not have to get on an airplane. That probably rules him out for Montreal on Tuesday. Dahlin did not travel for the start of a three-game road trip.

Reinhart tied it 2-2 at 6:26 of the second, also on the power play. Seth Jones shot from the middle of the blue line. The puck trickled between Ellis's pads. Reinhart poked it in for his first of the season. Luukkonen came in after that goal.

Ostlund in the crease, Thompson from the slot

McLeod put Buffalo back up at 11:25. He broke in, deked Schmid, and slid a wrist shot past the skate. First of the season. 3-2.

Reinhart scored on the power play again at 13:41. Brady Tkachuk's between-the-legs backhand from the far side of the net found him. 3-3. It was Tkachuk's first point in six games with Florida after the June 23 trade from Ottawa, the NHL recap said. Maurice told NHL.com he has been fine with Tkachuk's game, net front all night, and he has not spent time worrying about the points.

Ostlund broke the tie at 7:15 of the third. Zach Benson found him in front. One-timer. 4-3. The Associated Press recap said Buffalo went 2-for-5 on the power play after opening 1-for-17. Florida went 2-for-4 after entering 1-for-28.

Thompson finished it at 13:20. Power's feed, slot, blocker side on Schmid. 5-3.

Ruff told NHL.com it was Buffalo's best start. Moved the puck. Got it to the net. Second opportunities. Best hockey game in the six so far. Doan: a little relief to see something go in. Luukkonen: sometimes you do not have time to overthink it. You go in and help the team win.

Power was plus-3 in 26:31, the NHL recap said. Olen Zellweger had six shots. Mattias Samuelsson led all skaters at 26:59 and is unlinked. Brady Tkachuk had seven hits and three shots in 16:32. Florida visits Columbus on Tuesday.

AthX Engine on a 20.00 home night

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Reinhart at 10.20 (two goals, two shots, two power-play bonuses). Thompson is 7.60. Dahlin is 7.40. Jones is 7.40. Doan is 6.80. Ostlund is 6.30. McLeod is 5.70. Quinn, Zellweger, and Power sit at 5.60. Luukkonen's win, 13 saves, and one goal against land at 7.00. Schmid is 3.60. Markstrom is 1.20. Ellis is 0.40.

Buffalo's team line is 20.00. Florida's regulation loss is 1.60.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Sabres captain who scored and then stayed home, and for Reinhart's first two of the year in a building that swapped both goalies. They are not the same number.

Track Thompson, Dahlin, Reinhart, and both clubs on the marketplace. Buffalo visits Montreal on Tuesday.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020087. Information only; not financial advice.*