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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

{allcanada} Panthers top Senators in shootout for fifth straight win

 

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Brandon Pirri and Aleksander Barkov delivered again in the shootout to keep the Florida Panthers rolling.

Pirri and Barkov scored in the tiebreaker to give the Panthers a 2-1 victory against the Ottawa Senators at BB&T Center on Tuesday for their fifth consecutive victory.

It was the second straight game Pirri and Barkov scored in a shootout to help the Panthers win. They did it Sunday in a 5-4 victory against the Vancouver Canucks.

Pirri is 5-for-6 in shootout attempts this season and Barkov is 4-for-4. The Panthers are 5-1 in the tiebreaker.

"They're looking good," Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. "Last year was a tough year for the shootout; this year our guys are real confident. It's nice to see."

After Pirri scored to start the shootout, Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo stopped Mika Zibanejad and Kyle Turris before Barkov ended the game with a quick shot that beat Craig Anderson to the stick side.

Anderson made 39 saves through overtime to help Ottawa earn a point despite being outshot 40-16.

"He has been [great] for the five years I've been here," Senators coach Dave Cameron said. "Another great night by [Anderson]."

Each team had a great chance in overtime. Florida forward Jussi Jokinen had a breakaway but Anderson made a blocker save. Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson later came in alone but Luongo made a pad save on his low shot.

Corban Knight scored in regulation for Florida (19-12-4), which matched its season-high winning streak and is 11-3-0 in its past 14 games.

"For sure, it's a good Christmas present for all of us," Barkov said. "We had five in a row. After Christmas, we'll get back here and start working again."

Jaromir Jagr, who moved into fourth place on the NHL's all-time goal-scoring list with his 732nd in the victory against Vancouver, had an assist. Jagr also had a breakaway in the final minute of overtime but he couldn't get a clean shot off the backhand because of a rolling puck.

Jagr left the game briefly in the first period when he sustained a cut in the mouth as the result of a high stick from Ottawa forward Alex Chiasson. He lost four teeth as a result of the incident.

"I lost some teeth, but I increased my speed as you see it on the breakaway," Jagr joked. "I don't want to hear anything about I'm slow because I got on a breakaway."

Jagr and Chiasson were teammates in the Dallas Stars' organization during the 2012-13 season, and Jagr gave him a pat on the shoulder as he skated off the ice after being injured.

"Tough play," Chiasson said. "You never want to see that. I obviously didn't mean to hit him. He's a legend in this League, he's been around so long."

Mark Stone scored on the power play for the Senators (17-12-6), who have lost six of their past nine games.

Florida led 1-0 before Stone tied it at 1:31 of the third period. He was credited with his eighth goal of the season when Karlsson's wrist shot from the point bounced off him and past Luongo.

Knight broke a scoreless tie at 9:14 of the second period when he stickhandled in traffic between the circles, then flicked a quick shot that beat Anderson to the stick side. It was the only shot to get past Anderson during the second period, when Florida outshot Ottawa 19-4.

"We carried the play most of the night," Luongo said. "We did some good forechecking and hanging on to the puck in the offensive zone, cycling, creating chances. That's the type of hockey we want to be playing. Obviously we didn't score a lot of goals, but it doesn't matter. We generated chances, we hit some posts. We were a bit unlucky there, but we stuck with it. Our guys have been really key in the shootout scoring some big goals for that."

The goal was the first in a Panthers uniform for Knight, who was playing in his fifth game since being recalled from Portland of the American Hockey League.

"Corban did a great job tonight," Gallant said. "He came in, he scored a big goal for us. Ever since he's been here, he's been winning faceoffs, doing a good job. We're real happy with him."

The Senators played without forward Bobby Ryan and defenseman Cody Ceci, who were injured in a 5-2 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. Ryan Dzingel replace Ryan in the lineup and made his NHL debut.

"I don't think [the Christmas break] could come at a better time for us," Stone said. "We're struggling with injuries and not playing up to our standard. [Florida is] playing well and moving the puck and creating chances, but I think we got a little sloppy. It's coming back to bite us."

Center Derek MacKenzie and defenseman Alex Petrovic were back in the lineup for Florida after missing four games and 12 games, respectively, because of lower-body injuries.

Each team plays at home Sunday after the Christmas break. Florida hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa plays the Boston Bruins.

"We would have liked to get the two points and them with none, but they played the game," Gallant said. "They didn't get a lot of chances, but they took advantage of it. I just worry about the way we're playing and we're playing real good.

"We're finishing real strong here. The guys are going to have three good days off and get back to work again. These points are real big, especially early in the season like this."

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