Panthers stall Jets, 5-3

In Winnipeg, the visiting Florida Panthers had a difficult time shaking the Jets, but in the end they prevailed in a 5-3 decision.

Mason Marchment potted two goals and four points in the Florida win.

“It’s good to see him get a couple goals tonight and make some plays and gain some confidence because we’re going to need him going forward here,” Panthers head coach Andrew Brunette said. “Tonight it was his best game by far. He’s a unique player for us and he brings a dimension unlike a lot of players like him.”

Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves in the Panthers win.

Florida moved to 29-9-5.

“I really felt our compete level was higher than it was the other night [5-3 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Sunday],” Brunette said. “I thought we had a really good checking mentality [down] the stretch in the third period and did the things we had to do to win a hockey game. At times it wasn’t really pretty, but I thought we managed the puck real well and gave us a chance to play in their zone. When we have the puck in their zone we’re a fun team to watch and a fun team to play for.”

Winnipeg’s strikers were Paul Stastny, Kyle Connor, and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

“To win in this league — and we talk about it every night — it’s a hard league to win,” Jets coach Dave Lowry said. “You have to be committed to playing without the puck, you have to be committed to playing a certain way. And if you get away from it, usually you’re not on the right end of it.”

Winnipeg fell to 17-15-7.

“Frustrated. Just inconsistent play,” Stastny said. “There’s parts that are good, parts that are bad, and then it just seems like we shoot ourselves in the foot and get away from the game a little bit. It’s almost that we’re just trying to play for offense too much, and then leave our D-men on an island or our goaltender on an island. Obviously, you allow five goals, you might win once or twice this year, but you shouldn’t expect that. You score three goals, you should find a way to win.”

Anton Lundell also scored for the Panthers.

“In the third period, even if we’re down, we try to battle back and make a push for the win,” Marchment said. “Just holding onto the lead is a huge thing in the playoffs, so just doing that all year is going to be big for us down the stretch.”

Florida took a 4-3 lead in the middle frame off a strike from Carter Verhaeghe.

“They got a couple good looks early but we made some adjustments,” Verhaeghe said. “In our D-zone, we wanted to dial it in a little bit and I think we did that in the second and third [periods]. Our ‘D’ had great gaps, our forwards are coming back, and it definitely showed.”

Sam Bennett scored in the third period for the 5-3 final.

Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves in the Jets loss.

“Sometimes I think you look at the team you’re playing,” Stastny said. “When you play teams out east, they play more of a run-and-gun style, so maybe you get excited about doing that. That’s why they’re one of the top teams in the league. If we want to play their way, we’re not going to win. If we want to trade chances, that’s what makes them so good. Sometimes you’ve got to stick to your game plan, what makes us work, what makes us successful. If we just want to play offense, if we just want to go, go, go, there’s going to be a lot of frustration, misery.”