Sabres suffer one-goal loss to Panthers; Mattias Samuelsson injured late

BUFFALO – A tight game like Monday’s 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers serves as a harbinger for the Sabres.

Down the stretch, with every point precious in the ultra-tight Eastern Conference, expect more heavy, low-chance games.

They sure as heck better get used to it.

“I think when the urgency gets up, you’re going to see a lot of that,” said coach Lindy Ruff, whose Sabres lost for just the second time in their last 15 outings. “Not a lot of ice. You’ve got to make the other team pay for the mistakes they make. Special teams have to be good.”

Monday’s loss to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions was kind of a meh game. The Sabres did some good things, but they probably won’t win much if they replicate that type of effort.

“Defending Cup champs for a reason,” said winger Zach Benson, who scored the Sabres’ second goal. “They play hard. I didn’t think we had our best game by no means. We got to be better.”

The Sabres stayed close before the crowd of 16,343 fans in KeyBank Center, erasing two one-goal deficits before Anton Lundell broke a 2-2 tie 11:07 into the third period.

Following A.J. Greer’s empty-net goal, Sabres winger Alex Tuch scored at 19:46 to make it a one-goal game again.

“They’re back-to-back champs for a reason, and playing them’s a good test,” Sabres goalie Colten Ellis. “I think … over the last month and a half, we’ve been really comfortable in close games and closing out games, so it’s not going to be any different down the stretch.”

Greer’s second goal of the night proved costly, as Mattias Samuelsson, who has been the Sabres’ best all-round defenseman this season, tripped over teammate Tage Thompson on the play and landed on his right arm.

Samuelsson got up slowly and stayed on the bench in visible pain. Ruff did not have an update on his injury following the game.

If he misses any time – the Sabres have three more home games this week – his absence would likely be noticeable.

Greer, 4-2 ENG. Thompson dove to try and keep the puck in and Samuelsson went flying over him and remained down on the ice. He was slow going to the bench #LetsGoBuffalo #Sabrehood #FlaPanthers pic.twitter.com/hJcz4Z11WT

— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) January 13, 2026

Despite losing their first home game since Nov. 28, as of late Monday, the Sabres still held the Eastern Conference’s first wild card spot.

Three teams – the Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins – each had 52 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins and Panthers each had 51 points.

That’s why the stakes are so high in mid-January.

“It was a hard game,” Ruff said. “A lot of the game was played on the walls. They kept the puck on the walls. They did a good job kind of pushing us to the outside even on breakouts. It was a game where we were going to have to make them pay for their mistakes or they make us pay. …

“There wasn’t a lot of high-quality chances by either team.”

One of those prime chances, a point-blank shot by winger Josh Doan, could’ve tied the game at 3. While it went wide, the goal light went on.

Former Sabres winger Sam Reinhart’s power-play goal opened the scoring 2:35 into the game before defenseman Jacob Bryson’s point blast tied it at 10:19.

Bryson, who has registered just 10 shots on goal this season, hit the two-goal mark for the first time in his six-year career.

After Greer scored 15:11 into the first period, Benson tied it after moving up to left wing on the top alongside Thompson and Doan, jamming in Thompson’s rebound.

Lundell put the Panthers, who played without star Brad Marchand (undisclosed injury), up for good when Ellis couldn’t freeze the puck in a sea of players around his crease.

“I think there was 10 guys around the crease and everybody whacking at it, and they just got a stick on it and got a bounce there,” Ellis said.

Ruff became the third coach in NHL to reach the 1,900-game mark, joining Panthers coach Paul Maurice and Scotty Bowman.