Florida Panthers claw back, hand Pittsburgh Penguins another loss

NEW DELHI: Eetu Luostarinen's go-ahead goal in the third period propelled the Florida Panthers to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers concluded their homestand with a 2-1-0 record, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky played a crucial role with a spectacular performance, making 26 saves.

In a closely contested first period with no scoring, the Penguins had an opportunity on the power play, but Bobrovsky denied both shots on goal. The second period saw the Penguins take a 1-0 lead with Reilly Smith's backhander, capitalizing on a pass from Evgeni Malkin along the right boards.


However, the Panthers quickly responded, tying the score at 1-1 with just under three minutes left in the second period. Oliver Ekman-Larsson shoveled in a loose puck, finding the back of the net nine seconds after a failed power-play attempt for Florida.

The decisive moment came in the third period when Luostarinen, following a faceoff win by Anton Lundell, batted in a mid-air rebound from Evan Rodrigues' shot, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead with 13:50 remaining in the game.

Despite the Penguins pulling goaltender Tristan Jarry for a six-on-four advantage in the final minutes, the Panthers' defense held strong. Aleksander Barkov sealed the victory with an empty-net goal 27 seconds before the final buzzer.

The Penguins, on a four-game losing streak (0-2-2), faced offensive challenges, going 0-for-3 on the power play. Over the past 13 games, Pittsburgh has been unable to convert on 36 consecutive power-play opportunities. Florida's win marked their return to a winning record for the first time since early November.

(With Reuters inputs)