Sunday, December 20, 2015

Panthers Beat Canucks In Shootout

     Jaromir Jagr passed Marcel Dionne for 4th on the NHL all-time list with his 732nd goal as the Florida Panthers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 in a shootout at BB&T Center. The Panthers followed a four-game road swing with their first game of a six-game homestand. The Panthers have now won four straight and ten of their last 13 games.
     Vancouver(12-14-9) got out to a 1-0 lead at 6:32 of the first period Jared McCann bumped Erik Gudbranson off the puck on the end wall and passed it to Alex Biega at the top of the zone. His slapshot went through traffic and was deflected in by Jannik Hansen in the crease area.
     Florida(18-12-4) answered back at 12:26 as Canucks killer Shawn Thornton tied the game for Florida on his first tally of the season. Conner Brickley slipped the puck from the right circle to Thornton in the low slot and he ripped a wrist shot past Ryan Miller.
     The Canucks regained the lead with 4:31 left in the first. Bo Horvat skated down the right wing and sent a cross-ice pass to the low slot where Sven Baertschi roofed in a shot by Roberto Luongo for his second straight game with a goal.
     Jagr would get his milestone goal during the Panthers second power play of the game with 11.5 seconds remaining in the period to tie it at 2-2. Aleksander Barkov passed the puck from the left circle to Jagr at the right of the crease and he put in a snap shot for 10th goal this season. Jagr also passed Nicklas Lidstrom for 10th all-time in power-play points with his 591st point on that play.
     In the second period, the Panthers got out to their first lead of the contest at 5:38. Vincent Trocheck raced up the middle, split through the defense and rocketed a shot from the slot for his 10th goal.
     It just took 31 seconds for Vancouver to even the game at 3-3. Derek Dorsett scored from the top of the crease area on a feed by Adam Cracknell.
     The Cats added another power-play goal at 8:31 of the second. Jagr received the puck on the right side of the crease from Huberdeau. He backhanded it to Aaron Ekblad on the other side of the crease and he placed a wrist shot into the half-empty Vancouver cage.
     The Canucks matched it at 4-4 with 5:20 to go in the frame as Daniel Sedin collected his 15th goal of the campaign. He entered into the Panthers zone on a two-on-one and moved the puck to Hansen on the right side. He returned it to Sedin at the left of the crease for an easy score.
     Both teams scored on their first attempts of the shootout. Brandon Pirri connected with a backhand shot for Florida while McCann delayed before he put in a forehand shot. Miller left the game following the first round due to a cramp in his right leg and former Panther Jacob Markstrom replaced him. Barkov got the game-winner during the Panthers third attempt as he went to the backhand.

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