A third period collapse by the San Jose Sharks led to a 6-2 loss at the hands of the Panthers in Sunrise Monday night.
Florida struck for four goals in the final period including two power goals just nine seconds apart.
Keith Yandle had a power play to break a 202 tie in Panthers win – file photo courtesy of Lewis Bleiman
Keith Yandle and Vincent Trocheck pulled off that trick and gave the Panthers a 4-2 lead in what had been a closer affair.
“We had some confidence, obviously, to go in there and try to get the momentum,” Trocheck said. “Big power play for us. [Yandle] and I get two big goals to go up two, give us a little bit of insurance and give us that momentum. The power play came up huge today.”
Te win pushed the Panthers to 20-20-8.
Roberto Luongo made 27 saves to get the win.
Frank Vatrano scored once and had four points on the night.
“Sometimes that’s how hockey goes,” Vatrano said. “You feel good and you feel real confident going into game after game. That’s how I’m feeling right now. Obviously, there’s a (10-day) break (between games) coming up, but you gotta keep it going. I think the team all around is just making me better.”
Nick Bjugstad, Mike Matheson and Aaron Ekblad also scored for the Panthers.
Logan Couture and Timo Meier scored for the Sharks who have lost three straight.
“I thought we played a pretty tight road game,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said. “I didn’t think we gave them a lot of looks through the first two periods, and we were in a good spot. You feel for [Kane]. It’s not an undisciplined penalty. He chips the puck by the guy and catches him with his stick. At that point, we need a big kill, we need a big save, and we didn’t get either.”
[WATCH: All Sharks vs. Panthers highlights]
Martin Jones got the start but was pulled in the third period; he had 16 saves.
“It was a game where it didn’t feel like we were giving up a lot and we weren’t creating a lot,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “It was a pretty tight game early on. They come out and they get two quick power-play goals. Sometimes it can happen as quick as that, and that was the difference; it was their power play.”
Aaron Dell relieved Jones with just under 13 minutes left in the game and the score at 5-2
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