SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Aleksander Barkov scored his 24th goal of the season, James Reimer made 24 saves in his first start in six games and the surging Florida Panthers beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Friday night.
The Panthers have won five straight and are 12-3-0 in their past 15. They began the night three points behind Columbus for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Colton Sceviour, Aaron Ekblad and Mike Matheson also scored for the Panthers, and Evgenii Dadanov had two assists.
Sam Reinhart scored for the Sabres, and Robin Lehner made 26 saves.