BUFFALO – The Florida Panthers will try to throw some cold water on the NHL’s hottest team when they battle the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Jockeying for position in a jam-packed Eastern Conference, the Panthers (23-18-3) currently trail the surging Sabres (24-15-4) by only three points in the standings.

Josh Doan scored, Colten Ellis made 30 saves in his first game in a month and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Rangers 5-2 to give them 12 victories in their past 13 games.

Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff will be making history on Monday when his team faces off against the Florida Panthers.

FLA 4, BUF 3 | Period 3, 19:46 – Alex Tuch (15) from Bowen Byram (15) and Rasmus Dahlin (26) Sabres forward Josh Dunne fought the Panthers' Donovan Sebrango late in the second period. Just 1:22 later, Zach Benson scored the tying goal. Dunne also fought Florida's A.J. Greer last March.

That type of play has become commonplace for Doan. He has 30 points through 43 games, but he brings so much more to Buffalo’s lineup than just scoring. Among forwards with at least 500 five-on-five minutes, Doan’s 58-percent on-ice expected goal share is eighth in the NHL, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Buffalo Sabres (24-15-4, sixth in the Eastern Conference) host the Florida Panthers (23-18-3, 12th) in conference action on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Buffalo earned a 5-3 home victory over the Anaheim Ducks its last time out on Jan. 10.

The Buffalo Sabres have won three straight due in large part to their play in the first two periods but they have some things to clean up in the third if they hope to continue to win.

To wrap up their four-game road trip and while in a standings free fall, the Anaheim Ducks traveled to Western New York to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday evening. This was a battle between two teams with seasons heading in the opposite direction.