Panthers Lose Markström to Injury in 5-3 Loss to Sabres

The Florida Panthers lost 5-3 to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday afternoon at KeyBank Center, and the scoreboard was only part of the damage. Starting goalie Jacob Markström came out of the game after the first period, and the coaching staff said he was "tightening up." With Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand already sidelined, Florida now has to wait on Markström's status before Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Full game summary

Markström's status is the question that matters

Here's the thing: a goalie leaving after one period is rarely a small story, even when the reason sounds minor. Markström is 36, and a tightness-related issue at that age is the kind of thing a team handles carefully rather than rushing back. Teams in this spot usually weigh a short absence against the risk of a longer one, and Florida can't afford to find out the hard way. Until the club says more, the sensible read is that the Panthers are planning for a possible stretch without their No. 1.

Reinhart finally breaks through

It took six games, but Sam Reinhart scored his first goal of the season, and he didn't stop there. He recorded two power-play goals, and the second one pulled Florida even at 3-3 in the second period. Reinhart is a 10-time 20-goal scorer, and he made his former club pay on Monday, a reminder of how much skill he still brings to the lineup.

The bigger question is whether this is the start of something. Florida has scored only 12 goals this season, so the offense has been running on fumes. If Reinhart's night is the first sign of a unit that can finally find the net consistently, the Panthers have a real answer to their scoring problem. One game doesn't settle that, but it's a better starting point than the team has had.

Schmid's night and the goalie depth question

Akira Schmid has now played twice this season, and both games ended in losses. He came in during the second period with Florida trailing 1-0. Over 40 minutes, he allowed four goals, including the game-winner on the power play. He made 18 saves for a .857 save percentage, a step down from his .875 in his previous outing against San Jose.

Schmid doesn't look ready to be the team's top option, and that's the uncomfortable part. If Markström misses time, the Panthers would be leaning on a goalie who hasn't yet shown he can steady a game on his own. Teams in that position often find that their backup's numbers matter less than how quickly the defence and forwards can cut down on high-danger chances in front of him. Florida's skaters will need to help Schmid more than they have so far.

Special teams: a breakthrough in a bad stretch

Entering the game, the Panthers were 1-for-28 on the power play, which ranked 32nd in the league at 3.6 percent. Buffalo was 1-for-17 at 5.9 percent, 30th overall. Both teams got plenty of chances, with Florida earning four opportunities and the Sabres five, and both clubs scored twice with the man advantage on Monday.

For Florida, the power-play goals mattered most because they snapped a run of 18 consecutive opportunities without a goal. That kind of drought wears on a group's confidence, and the change gives the coaches something concrete to build on. In a division where the top spots are usually tight, special-teams goals are often the difference between a point and no point, and the Panthers can't keep giving them away.

Injuries stacking up

Last season, the Panthers' dressing room felt like a MASH unit, with nearly every key player missing time at some point. This year started with the team healthy after its longest offseason in four years, but the West Coast trip changed that quickly. Barkov went down with a lower-body injury, and Marchand followed in the very next game. Monday brought the Markström exit, and Radko Gudas also left the game briefly before returning for the third period.

After six games, Florida has already lost its top centre, its second-line winger and its starting goalie for at least some time. Depth is no longer a theory. It's the plan, and the next few weeks will show whether the roster has enough of it to stay in the race.

Next up: Columbus on Tuesday

The Panthers won't get much time to regroup. They travel to face the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, with the puck dropping at 6:15 p.m. ET. Columbus sits sixth in the Metropolitan Division at 2-2-0, so it's a chance for Florida to build on the power-play breakthrough and see whether Reinhart's scoring can carry over. The bigger test is who is in net, and that answer could shape the next stretch of the Panthers' season.