Panthers' Rodrigues hopes scoring barrage against Woll carries over to Buffalo

Florida gets right back at it against the Sabres

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

It was another season. Another one-on-one with Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll. Evan Rodrigues was younger. And the Maple Leafs goalie got the best of him. But not Thursday night.

Rodrigues, 32, scored the first short-handed goal of his NHL career on a breakaway that culminated in some nifty footwork that fooled Woll, who dove to one side while Rodrigues slid the puck into the opposite end of the net. It capped the scoring on a 3-0 first period for the Panthers in their 5-1 win Thursday.

It was a nice redemption for Rodrigues, who tried the same move -- unsuccessfully -- several years ago against Woll in a shootout.

"I wanted to shoot it (right away), but it just felt like I wasn't going fast enough, so I just panicked a little," Rodrigues said. "I tried that move a couple years ago against him and I'm happy it went in this time."

Rodrigues's "tries" have reaped benefits for the injury-riddle Panthers this season. Against Toronto, he amassed seven shots in the first period alone -- one more than the entire Maple Leads entire team in the first 20 minutes.

In 57 games this season, Rodrigues has scored 11 goals and totaled 16 assists. He shined for the Panthers in the playoffs the past two seasons, with two goals and 13 assists last year, and seven goals and eight assists in the 2023-24 post-season.

Coach Paul Maurice continually praises Rodrigues for his versatility and leadership, especially with the need for players to step up in the midst of the Panthers' injuries. The center's tenacity on Thursday was no exception.

"Evan Rodrigues was pretty dynamic with that line," Maurice said, referring to the line of Rodrigues, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Reinhart. "I thought the three guys just played off each other really well."

The Panthers are back at it tonight at home against a hot Buffalo team that's won two out of three meeting with the Panthers this season. Buffalo has 72 points, and if the season ended today, would claim one of the playoff wild card spots in the East.

Now with 24 games left to play, the Panthers' 63 points place them into a tie with Toronto and Philadelphia in the East, seven points behind Boston for the last wild card spot.

Maurice was encouraged by the offensive outburst against Toronto , but still preached his one-game-at-a-time mantra.

"We just come back to the rink Friday feeling good and we don't have a bunch of areas that we have to clean up after a three-week break," Maurice said.

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Leaf dominator: Brad Marchand's two goals continued his domination of the Maple Leafs. His 97 points against Toronto are the most points of any player in their career against the Leafs. Marchand now has 27 goals on the season, tying Reinhart for the team lead.

Bobrovsky at his best: Sergei Bobrovsky's .966 save percentage (he stopped 28 of 29 shots) was his best other than his three shutouts this season. The majority of his saves came in the second and third periods Thursday. "He certainly had some big saves that he had to make, and he did, but it's tough when you sit for a long time," Maurice said. "He's always been able to do that for us, sit for a while with not much and then come up big."

Tonight's game: Buffalo Sabres (33-19-6) at Florida Panthers (30-25-3), Friday at 7 p.m.

TV: Local: WSFL 39. WPTV 5. Streaming: ESPN+.

Head-to-Head: Buffalo leads 2-1. At Buffalo: Sabres 3, Panthers 0 (Oct. 13); Panthers 4, Sabres 3 (Jan. 13). At Florida: Sabres 5, Panthers 3 (Feb. 2). All-time regular season series: Florida leads 61-47-8, 4 ties.

Starting goalies: Florida: Daniil Tarisov (8-8-2) vs. Buffalo: Alex Lyon (14-8-3)

Top performers: Sam Bennett has scored 19 goals with 24 assists for the Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk has four goals and five assists over the past 10 games. For Buffalo, Alex Tuch has 21 goals and 26 assists, and Tage Thompson has six goals and five assists over the past 10 games.

3 key questions for tonight's game: Can Tarisov bounce back from his last two games against Tampa Bay and St. Louis, when he allowed five goals each? Can the Panthers come out strong again in the first period? Can the Panthers continue their strong play on special teams from last night?

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