Sandis Vilmanis nopelna pirmo punktu NHL spēlē

Latvian forward Sandis Vilmanis secured his first point of the new NHL season on October 12, 2026, but the contribution failed to lift the Florida Panthers past the Buffalo Sabres in a 5-3 road defeat, LSM reported. The loss leaves the Panthers hovering near the playoff bubble in the Eastern Conference early in the regular season.

Early Spark and the First Career Point

The visiting Panthers fell behind early at KeyBank Center when Josh Doan opened the scoring for Buffalo at the 6-minute mark, beating the goaltender to the far corner following a feed from Peyton Krebs, as detailed by Sportacentrs.com. Florida responded five minutes later. Vilmanis initiated a scoring sequence in the offensive zone by feeding a pass to defenseman Aaron Ekblad at the blue line. Ekblad put a shot toward the net, and forward Anton Lundell drove the slot to sweep home the rebound, knotting the score at 1-1 at the 11-minute mark of the opening period, according to Apollo.lv.

The assist marked Vilmanis’s first point through six appearances in the young campaign. Across 12 minutes and 21 seconds of total ice time, the rookie forward recorded a plus-1 rating, blocked one shot, and surrendered possession twice, Sportacentrs.com noted. Fellow Latvian countryman and defenseman Uvis Jānis Balinskis did not dress for the contest and sat out as a healthy scratch.

Swinging Momentum in Buffalo

Despite the early deadlock, Buffalo reclaimed the advantage before the first intermission when defenseman Rasmus Dahlin converted a power play to make it 2-1. Goaltending adjustments followed for Florida, as goaltender Jacob Markstrom departed the match after the opening period and was replaced by Akira Schmid, according to Sportacentrs.com records.

The teams traded goals through the middle frame. Ryan McLeod pushed the Sabres ahead 3-2 on a breakaway before Florida’s Sam Reinhart answered with a power-play tally. Reinhart struck again later in the second period, assisted by a no-look between-the-legs feed from newcomer Brady Tkachuk, sending the teams into the second intermission tied at 3-3, Sportacentrs.com reported.

Third Period Separation for the Sabres

The deadlock broke for good in the final 20 minutes. Noah Ostlund restored Buffalo’s lead to 4-3 at the 48-minute mark, netting the fourth lead change of the night for the hosts. Tage Thompson later doubled the advantage to 5-3 with a strike midway through the third period, sealing the victory for the Sabres, as outlined by Apollo.lv.

Florida pressured late and earned a power play when Buffalo’s Josh Norris was penalized for interference with 1 minute and 52 seconds remaining in regulation—his second minor infraction in a span of less than five minutes. The Panthers failed to capitalize on the advantage, and the score remained unchanged at the final horn.

Eastern Conference Standings and Upcoming Schedule

With the regulation loss, the Panthers hold six points through their first six games, placing them 10th in the Eastern Conference standings.