Prepare for Takeoff: Panthers Beat Sabres Before Flight to Finland

Even though the Florida Panthers are packed and ready to head to Finland, they had one more piece of business before their seven-plus hour flight: A game with the Buffalo Sabres.

The Panthers checked that last box off their preflight to-do list, beating the Sabres 5-2 for their third straight win.

Enjoy the Duty Free store, boys.

Florida heads to Finland — the Panthers are scheduled to practice in Helsinki tomorrow — with points in seven of its past eight (6-1-1).

Monday, playing with captain Sasha Barkov for the first time in over two weeks, took a 2-0 lead into the second off goals from Jesper Boqvist and Sam Reinhart.

The second goal came off a fantastic no-look pass from Barkov which left Reinhart shaking his head.

“Unbelievable,’’ Reinhart could be seen mouthing.

“A long time for me, but it was great,’’ Barkov said. “We played a really good game, and it was fun to be a part of. It was amazing to see — you hate watching games when you’re not playing — but the guys played so great, we feel comfortable in those situations where you’re either up, down, or in a tight game. It was fun to watch.’’

Buffalo tied it in the second, only Carter Verhaeghe gave Florida the lead back by following a rebound off a shot from Matthew Tkachuk.

Reinhart had a big third period for Florida, blocking a shot on a penalty kill in front of Sergei Bobrovsky before flipping the puck out of the zone to end it moments later.

Sam Bennett gave the Panthers some needed breathing room with 5:25 left, ripping a wrist shot from the right circle to make it 4-2.

Bennett now has a career-long five-game goal streak and is off to a fantastic start with eight goals in 11 games.

Barkov iced the game with his first goal of the season in the third.

Bobrovsky got his 401st victory by making 26 saves.

“I thought we defended well all over, this was a good game,’’ Bobrovsky said. “We stood together, competed, and it was a big two points for us.’’

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Panthers 1, Sabres 0 (11:01 1st): Anton Lundell finds Jesper Boqvist on the left side off a 2-on-1 breakout.
• Panthers 2, Sabres 0 (11:56 1st PP): Sasha Barkov throws a slick no-look pass from behind the net to a wide-open Sam Reinhart 2-feet in front of the net. That’s not good.
• Panthers 2, Sabres 1 (10:45 2nd PP): Jason Zucker bats down a knuckleball sent toward the net from Tage Thompson.
• Sabres 2, Panthers 2 (12:37 2nd): Rasmus Dahlin drives the net and hits Sergei Bobrovsky with a backhander that goes in.
• Panthers 3, Sabres 2 (16:44 2nd): Carter Verhaeghe cashes in on a Matthew Tkachuk rebound.
• Panthers 4, Sabres 2 (14:35 3rd PP): Sam Bennett picks the corner, rifling a wrist shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
• Panthers 5, Sabres 2 (15:43 3rd): Barkov gets a goal of his own to ice this thing.

GR’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

• 1. Sasha Barkov, Florida
• 2. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida
• 3. Sam Reinhart, Florida

ON DECK: GAME 12 

NHL GLOBAL SERIES AT TAMPERE, FINLAND

FLORIDA PANTHERS V. DALLAS STARS

• When: Friday, 1 p.m. EDT
• Where: Nokia Arena; Tampere, Finland
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WPTV 5/WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
• National TV: NHLN
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Last Season: Florida won 2-0
• This Season — At Tampere, Finland: Friday, Saturday.
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 26-21-2, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Dallas Stars, 11 a.m. EDT