Panthers Smoke Jets

    The Florida Panthers snapped a five-game losing streak as they pulled off a third-period rally for a 6-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at BB&T Center on Thursday night. The Cats begin a four-game road trip on Sunday at Buffalo.
    Neither team were able to score in the first period. Florida(2-5-0) got the first goal of the game on a 5-on-3 power play at 5:14 of the second period. Defenseman Brian Campbell blasted a slapshot from the top slot area by Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec for his third goal this season and a Panthers 1-0 lead. Left wing Tomas Fleischmann made the feed from the right corner.
    Winnipeg(3-3-1) tied the game at 16:11 as defenseman Grant Clitsome nailed a slapshot from the left point by goalie Jose Theodore after he received a pass from the right side by Andrew Ladd.
    Both teams combined for seven goals in the third period. Former Panthers captain and center Olli Jokinen scored on a one-time snapshot from the low right circle at 1:23 following a pass by right wing Blake Wheeler in the right corner.
    The Panthers evened the contest at 3:34 as Kris Versteeg got his first goal of the season. Fleischmann faked a shot from the left circle, put a pass in the low slot and Versteeg finished with a close-range shot.
    The Jets would take their final lead of the game 3-2 at the 7:38 mark. Center Alexander Burmistrov had the puck in the right corner and sent it out to the top left circle. Defenseman Tobias Enstrom ripped a slapshot for the go-ahead goal.
    The Cats would connect on consecutive power plays in the middle of the frame to retake the lead. Center Peter Mueller scored in his third straight game when he flipped a wrist shot from the low slot into the top of the net on a rebound at 11:20. Defenseman Filip Kuba took a slapshot from the top of the zone prior to that.
    Right wing Alex Kovalev would send a wrist shot from the high slot over Pavelec's glove at 12:37. Left wing Tomas Kopecky started the play in the right corner and Fleischmann shoveled the puck from the end wall.
    Left wing Jonathan Huberdeau intercepted a pass into the Panthers line and went down the ice on a two-on-one break. He softly sent a shot from the slot that bounced in at 15:29 for his second NHL tally and extended the Cats lead to 5-3. Kopecky skated alone through the neutral zone and capped the win with an open-net goal with 1:28 left in regulation for his second goal this season.
    The Panthers went 3-for-3 on the power play which included going 2-for-2 in the final period. The Jets faltered on the man advantage as they were held scoreless at 0-for-3. Theodore improved to 2-4-0 as he made 22 saves. Pavelec dropped to 2-3-1 this season and 5-l-0 all-time against the Panthers as he lost for the first time to the Cats.