Aaron Ekblad finished a back and forth game between the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche on Monday night when he scored 26 seconds into extra time to give the Panthers a 4-3 win in Denver.
The victory moved Roberto Luongo into third place in the NHL record book for wins; he made 36 saves in the win.
Roberto Luongo picked up his 485 career win – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“I’m happier we got the two points,” Luongo said. “It’s a big road win for our club against a team that’s one of the good teams. They had won four in a row, so it was a gutsy effort for our club in a road game in a tough building.”
Mike Hoffman tied the game at 3-3 in the third period.
“(Keith) Yandle made a great pass to me on the back door,” Hoffman said. “We were able to tie it up and get a little more momentum back on our side after they got one.”
Troy Brouwer and Evgenii Dadonov also scored for the Panthers in regulation.
“I believe in the character and the heart in this room,” Panthers head coach Bob Boughner said. “We’re going to battle together right to the end. We sure did that tonight being down 2-0 and being down 3-2. Finding ways to win games this time of year is never easy. I think we’ve done a great job of that recently. Great performances all around, a lot of contributions tonight.”
Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Jost scored for the Avs.
Derick Brassard, acquired for Florida on trade day by the Avs, scored in his debut for Colorado.
“I guess they fell asleep there,” Brassard said. “I was just coming down the middle and it was a great play by [Graves] to be patient and just go around the net. I felt like we played a good game in general. Maybe we needed a little more tonight and that’s why we didn’t get the extra point.
“It was a fun night. It’s always a good atmosphere here and coming from a visiting team, it’s always a special place. I’m going to try and play well here for the team and the fans.”
[WATCH: All Panthers vs. Avalanche highlights]
Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves in the loss.
“He (Brassard) was pretty good. Hasn’t skated in a couple days, comes in, gets brushed up on things, scores a big goal for us. Pretty good on the draws. We’ll get to know him a little bit better. I don’t know him real well as a player; trying to do my homework on him. I liked his talk out there, a veteran guy, knows what’s going on, making the right reads.”
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