In Anaheim, the Ducks’ Jakob Silfverberg struck for a goal with less than five minutes left in regulation to give the Ducks a 3-2 lead over the visiting Florida Panthers..
The goal held up as the Ducks ended the Panthers four-game win streak.
John Gibson made 37 saves for the victory.
Adam Henrique had a goal for Ducks – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“We managed to find a way to win and have been playing pretty good lately,” Silfverberg said. “We are feeling pretty good about ourselves.”
Evgenii Dadonov and Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers who are eight points back of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s tough. We couldn’t afford a loss tonight,” Jonathan Huberdeau said. “It happens, but it’s tough to swallow.”
The loss dropped the Panthers to 32-28-12.
Devin Shore and Adam Henrique also had strikes for Anaheim.
“Tonight’s goal was a bit of a lucky bounce, but if you’re getting pucks to the net and getting bodies there, then maybe sometimes you get a lucky bounce,” Shore said. “It’s been going good lately, and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Ryan Getzlaf had two assists in the win.
“[Getzlaf] just made a heads-up play with the bank, just to give me a little bit of extra space,” Henrique said. “I had (Ducks forward Corey Perry) driving backdoor there. I was looking to slide it over, and I kind of ran out of room, so I just tried to make a move and was fortunate enough that I got it through the seven-hole there.”
Anaheim improved to 30-35-9.
“Bob (Murray) has been doing a really good job behind the bench, being very positive with us, and we’re showing a lot of confidence right now and we’re playing kind of simple,” Anaheim’s Max Jones said.
[WATCH: All Panthers vs. Ducks highlights]
Sam Montembeault made 19 saves in the loss.
“The big line (Huberdeau, Barkov, Dadonov) was going and we didn’t get much from anybody else, not for lack of effort,” Florida head coach Bob Boughner said. “That’s why we’ve been winning. We’ve been finding ways to win lately because we’re getting contributions throughout the lineup. … Tonight, we couldn’t seem to find it.
“You’re going to have nights like that, but you’ve just got to keep pushing.”
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