Sharks Eaten Up By Panthers

     The Florida Panthers began a four-game road trip out west and topped the San Jose Sharks 4-2 at SAP Center on Thursday night. The Panthers, who swept the Sharks this season, won in the Shark Tank for the third straight season. The Sharks, who had their six-game winning streak snapped, have the best record in the Western Conference.
     San Jose(43-20-8) moved ahead 1-0 at the 7:22 mark. Melker Karlsson got his 12th goal of the year on assists from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Tim Heed.
     Florida(31-27-12) was able to tie it up with 8:15 left in the first period. Aaron Ekblad snapped a shot from the right point which was saved by Martin Jones, however Jamie McGinn scored on a forehand shot from the blue paint. Ekblad has compiled eight points in his last 10 games.
     The Sharks regained the lead 2-1 with 5:24 remaining. Brenden Dillon zipped a pass from the left point to Justin Braun on the right point. His diagonal pass to the top left circle was nailed by Kevin Lebanc with a one-time slapshot past Sam Montembeault.
     The Cats evened it at 2-2 just 1:25 into the second period. Riley Sheahan won a neutral-zone faceoff then Troy Brouwer was at the right point and passed to his left. Dryden Hunt released a high wrist shot for his second NHL goal.
     The Panthers got their first lead of the game on the power play with 1:11 to go. Aleksander Barkov dropped the puck from the right wing to Keith Yandle at the right point and he made a cross-ice pass. Mike Hoffman powered in a slapshot from the above the left circle for his 32nd goal of the season. It tied Ray Whitney back in 1997-98 for most goals by a first-year player with Florida.
     In the third period, Florida extended their lead to 4-2 at 8:15. Hoffman carried the puck into the Sharks zone and made give-and-go pass with Vincent Trocheck. Hoffman backhanded a soft pass in the crease and Frank Vatrano finished the play with a forehand shot for his 22nd goal of the season.