SUNRISE, Fla. — Mike Grier, Jason Pominville and Matt Ellis each scored in the first 5 minutes of a wild opening period to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.
Tyler Myers and Thomas Vanek also scored in the first for the Sabres (5-1-1), who opened a three-game road trip. Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, who hasn’t lost in regulation this season, stopped 41 shots. Miller had the night off Saturday when Buffalo lost 4-2 to Atlanta.
Steve Reinprecht and Rostislav Olesz had goals for the Panthers (2-5-0).
Scott Clemmensen, who helped Florida snap a four-game skid with a win over Philadelphia last Friday, made his second straight start in goal for Florida, but didn’t last long this time. He was replaced by Tomas Vokoun after giving up two goals on three shots in less than 2 minutes. Vokoun finished with 33 saves.
Grier beat Clemmensen 1:11 in for his second goal of the season. Then, with Kamil Kreps in the penalty box for hooking, Pominville got a power-play goal just 45 seconds later to put the Sabres up 2-0 and chase Clemmensen.
Buffalo went up 3-0 at 4:37 in the first on Ellis’ goal and Myers scored on a shot from the blue line at 10:20 in the opening period to give the Sabres a commanding four-goal lead.
With 5:49 left in the first, Reinprecht recorded Florida’s lone goal of the period. An apparent goal by Reinprecht in the third period was disallowed because it was determined that the puck was knocked in with his hand.
Buffalo scored again with 3:12 left in the opening period, when Vokoun landed on his back and slid into the net during a scuffle in front of the Panthers’ goal. Vanek, who missed Buffalo’s last two games with an upper-body injury, knocked the puck into the net to make it 5-1.
Olesz scored a power-play goal late in the third period to make it 5-2.
NOTES: Buffalo went 3-1-0 against Florida last season. ... The Sabres face the Panthers three more times this season. The two teams next meet Nov. 18 in Buffalo. ... Buffalo LW Clarke MacArthur suffered from flulike symptoms earlier in the week and wore a surgical mask on the team’s flight to South Florida, but was in Buffalo’s starting lineup Wednesday.
Sabres
SABRES: First period flurry leads to 5-2 win in Florida
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