The Panthers, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, played without three of their biggest stars - Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Sergei Bobrovsky.

BUFFALO -- The Buffalo Sabres got their first win of the season by defeating the Florida Panthers 5-2 at KeyBank Center on Saturday. It was also Buffalo's first win under Lindy Ruff, who is in his second stint as coach of the team after being hired to replace Don Granato on April 22.

The Florida Panthers will be without LW Matthew Tkachuk due to illness against the Buffalo Sabres, per NHL insider Elliotte Friedman. In his place, Spencer Knight will get the start. The Panthers will also be without C Aleksander Barkov (lower body), who is expected to miss two to three weeks.