Hoffman, Ekblad Lead Panthers Past Sharks 5-3

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov scored, Aaron Ekblad had two assists and the slumping Florida Panthers beat the San Jose Sharks 5-3 Monday.

Colton Sceviour, Anton Stralman and Vincent Trocheck also scored for Florida, which had lost six of seven. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 shots, and the Panthers moved within two points of idle Toronto for third place in the Atlantic Division.

“We really kept our composure tonight and that really helped,” Ekblad said. “Our confidence was high all night and that was a good sign that we would hold on.”

Dylan Gambrell, Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier each scored and Brent Burns had two assists for San Jose, which had won four of its previous five. Aaron Dell had 23 saves.

Hoffman scored his 22nd goal 11 minutes into the second period on a breakaway after intercepting Burns’ pass near his own blue line. That put Florida up 2-1, and Sceviour made it 3-1 midway through the third.

“They’re a pretty opportunistic team,” Sharks interim coach Bob Boughner said. “They can finish, they’ve got some skill, so you feel I think that we played hard for one another. We got a 6-on-5 goal, we got a power-play goal, our penalty kill was good. It just seemed that when we had that momentum we gave them that once chance on the breakaway and it sort of turned the game a little bit.”

Dadonov scored his 24th goal off a rebound on a wrist shot from five feet out for the game’s first goal early in the first. Gambrell countered with his fourth goal at 12:30 of the first.

The Sharks closed within 3-2 on Labanc’s power-play goal, his 14th overall, with just over five minutes left in the third.

Stralman scored his fifth with just under three minutes left in the third to extend Florida’s lead to 4-2, and Meier and Trocheck traded goals late, with Trochek scoring into an empty net. Meier’s goal was his 20th.

“We really got that extra push when Stralman scored,” Ekblad said. “It gave us a 4-2 lead and even though they got a quick goal to make it (4-3), it really gave us an extra push. We got two big goals when we needed them. Those were big moments.”

NOTES: Panthers F Jonathan Huberdeau was knocked to the ice early in the third after being pushed by Barclay Goodrow into Stefan Noesen, who crashed into the back of Huberdeau’s head with his shoulder. No penalty was called on the play. The Panthers’ points leader and second leading scorer went to the bench after the play but returned midway through the third. … F Jayce Hawryluk was claimed off waivers from Florida by the Ottawa Senators. … Sharks C Noah Gregor is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. … Sharks F Evander Kane served the second of a three-game suspension for elbowing Winnipeg Jets D Neal Pionk on Friday. … The Sharks reassigned D Jacob Middleton to the San Jose Barracuda, their AHL affiliate. … Sharks C Antti Suomela left the game for evaluation and did not return after taking a hit from D Josh Brown. Boughner said his status is day-to-day.

UP NEXT

Panthers: At Anaheim on Wednesday.

Sharks: At New Jersey on Thursday.

(© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Hoffman, Ekblad Lead Panthers Past Sharks 5-3

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov scored, Aaron Ekblad had two assists and the slumping Florida Panthers beat the San Jose Sharks 5-3 Monday.

Colton Sceviour, Anton Stralman and Vincent Trocheck also scored for Florida, which had lost six of seven. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 shots, and the Panthers moved within two points of idle Toronto for third place in the Atlantic Division.

“We really kept our composure tonight and that really helped,” Ekblad said. “Our confidence was high all night and that was a good sign that we would hold on.”

Dylan Gambrell, Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier each scored and Brent Burns had two assists for San Jose, which had won four of its previous five. Aaron Dell had 23 saves.

Hoffman scored his 22nd goal 11 minutes into the second period on a breakaway after intercepting Burns’ pass near his own blue line. That put Florida up 2-1, and Sceviour made it 3-1 midway through the third.

“They’re a pretty opportunistic team,” Sharks interim coach Bob Boughner said. “They can finish, they’ve got some skill, so you feel I think that we played hard for one another. We got a 6-on-5 goal, we got a power-play goal, our penalty kill was good. It just seemed that when we had that momentum we gave them that once chance on the breakaway and it sort of turned the game a little bit.”

Dadonov scored his 24th goal off a rebound on a wrist shot from five feet out for the game’s first goal early in the first. Gambrell countered with his fourth goal at 12:30 of the first.

The Sharks closed within 3-2 on Labanc’s power-play goal, his 14th overall, with just over five minutes left in the third.

Stralman scored his fifth with just under three minutes left in the third to extend Florida’s lead to 4-2, and Meier and Trocheck traded goals late, with Trochek scoring into an empty net. Meier’s goal was his 20th.

“We really got that extra push when Stralman scored,” Ekblad said. “It gave us a 4-2 lead and even though they got a quick goal to make it (4-3), it really gave us an extra push. We got two big goals when we needed them. Those were big moments.”

NOTES: Panthers F Jonathan Huberdeau was knocked to the ice early in the third after being pushed by Barclay Goodrow into Stefan Noesen, who crashed into the back of Huberdeau’s head with his shoulder. No penalty was called on the play. The Panthers’ points leader and second leading scorer went to the bench after the play but returned midway through the third. … F Jayce Hawryluk was claimed off waivers from Florida by the Ottawa Senators. … Sharks C Noah Gregor is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. … Sharks F Evander Kane served the second of a three-game suspension for elbowing Winnipeg Jets D Neal Pionk on Friday. … The Sharks reassigned D Jacob Middleton to the San Jose Barracuda, their AHL affiliate. … Sharks C Antti Suomela left the game for evaluation and did not return after taking a hit from D Josh Brown. Boughner said his status is day-to-day.

UP NEXT

Panthers: At Anaheim on Wednesday.

Sharks: At New Jersey on Thursday.

(© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Oilers Pour It On Panthers, 4-1

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Adam Larsson scored his first goal since last February, Leon Draisaitl added an insurance goal seconds into the third period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 Saturday night.

Darnell Nurse and Kailer Yamamoto had empty-net goals in the final two minutes for the Oilers, who have won three of their last four games.

It was the sixth loss in the last seven games for the Panthers, who are 2-6-1 since the All-Star break. Florida had entered the break on a six-game win streak.

Edmonton goalie Mikko Koskinen made 33 saves, while back-up netminder Sam Montembeault stopped 25 of 27 shots for Florida.

Larsson’s first goal since Feb. 19, 2019 put the Oilers ahead 1-0 at the 15:14 mark of the first period on a one-timer from just inside the blue line.

“I thought we played solid hockey all night tonight,” he said. “That’s a good sign for us.”

Larsson praised the solid outing by Koskinen.

“He’s been outstanding the whole year and now we have two really, really good goaltenders,” Larsson said.

His goal was assisted by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has points in 12 of his last 14 games. Nugent-Hopkins has been pesky against the Panthers with 13 points in his last 14 games against them.

Edmonton coach Dave Tippett called the victory a confidence-builder.

“We played really solid positionally,” he said. “We just kind of banged it around and found a way to get a win.”

Draisaitl’s insurance tally, into a wide open right side against an out-of-position Montembeault, came just 13 seconds into the third period. It was the 33rd goal this season for Draisaitl, who has eight points in his last four games.

Draisaitl, who entered the game leading the NHL with 90 points, became the first player to have 10 game-winning goals since Jari Kurri tallied the same number in 1986-87.

The Panthers cut the deficit to 2-1 at 8:45 of the third period when Jonathan Huberdeau scored his 21st goal.

Huberdeau said a quick change is needed as the team heads to California and the start of a five-game road trip.

“There’s no emotion, and that starts with us. We (all) have to pick it up … especially when we’re going on a long road trip,” he said. “I don’t think we’re working hard enough.”

With his assist on Huberdeau’s goal, captain Aleksander Barkov moved into second place in assists (250) in Panthers history.

Barkov said the sense of urgency has to start out west.

“Before the All-Star break, we had fun and played for each other. We battled for each other and worked hard,” he said. “Now it feels like we’re not first to the pucks. All the little things we need to get better at.”

Edmonton came close to scoring midway through the first period, but Alex Chiasson’s breakaway shot glanced off Montembeault’s stick blade.

Florida coach Joel Quenneville said the team should not be looking for excuses..

“(Our play is) just not good enough. At the start of the game, we didn’t dictate the tempo or the pace,” Quenneville said. “They get the lead and they control the game, and we’re chasing it the whole game.”

Florida got a scare five minutes into the second period when Barkov left the game after receiving a blindside hit from Edmonton’s Matt Benning against the boards. Barkov returned to the bench a few minutes later.

Things got a little chippy after the Barkov incident. After Noel Acciari mixed it up with Benning, the Panthers’ Josh Brown and Larsson dropped the gloves at center ice. Both received five-minute majors.

NOTES: Edmonton RW Zack Kassian began his seven-game suspension for kicking Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak on Thursday. … Oilers C and former Panther Riley Sheehan played in his 500th NHL game. … The Panthers commemorated Friday’s second anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings in Parkland with a pre-game ceremony.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Visit Carolina on Sunday.

Panthers: Visit San Jose on Monday.

(© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Oilers Pour It On Panthers, 4-1

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Adam Larsson scored his first goal since last February, Leon Draisaitl added an insurance goal seconds into the third period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 Saturday night.

Darnell Nurse and Kailer Yamamoto had empty-net goals in the final two minutes for the Oilers, who have won three of their last four games.

It was the sixth loss in the last seven games for the Panthers, who are 2-6-1 since the All-Star break. Florida had entered the break on a six-game win streak.

Edmonton goalie Mikko Koskinen made 33 saves, while back-up netminder Sam Montembeault stopped 25 of 27 shots for Florida.

Larsson’s first goal since Feb. 19, 2019 put the Oilers ahead 1-0 at the 15:14 mark of the first period on a one-timer from just inside the blue line.

“I thought we played solid hockey all night tonight,” he said. “That’s a good sign for us.”

Larsson praised the solid outing by Koskinen.

“He’s been outstanding the whole year and now we have two really, really good goaltenders,” Larsson said.

His goal was assisted by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has points in 12 of his last 14 games. Nugent-Hopkins has been pesky against the Panthers with 13 points in his last 14 games against them.

Edmonton coach Dave Tippett called the victory a confidence-builder.

“We played really solid positionally,” he said. “We just kind of banged it around and found a way to get a win.”

Draisaitl’s insurance tally, into a wide open right side against an out-of-position Montembeault, came just 13 seconds into the third period. It was the 33rd goal this season for Draisaitl, who has eight points in his last four games.

Draisaitl, who entered the game leading the NHL with 90 points, became the first player to have 10 game-winning goals since Jari Kurri tallied the same number in 1986-87.

The Panthers cut the deficit to 2-1 at 8:45 of the third period when Jonathan Huberdeau scored his 21st goal.

Huberdeau said a quick change is needed as the team heads to California and the start of a five-game road trip.

“There’s no emotion, and that starts with us. We (all) have to pick it up … especially when we’re going on a long road trip,” he said. “I don’t think we’re working hard enough.”

With his assist on Huberdeau’s goal, captain Aleksander Barkov moved into second place in assists (250) in Panthers history.

Barkov said the sense of urgency has to start out west.

“Before the All-Star break, we had fun and played for each other. We battled for each other and worked hard,” he said. “Now it feels like we’re not first to the pucks. All the little things we need to get better at.”

Edmonton came close to scoring midway through the first period, but Alex Chiasson’s breakaway shot glanced off Montembeault’s stick blade.

Florida coach Joel Quenneville said the team should not be looking for excuses..

“(Our play is) just not good enough. At the start of the game, we didn’t dictate the tempo or the pace,” Quenneville said. “They get the lead and they control the game, and we’re chasing it the whole game.”

Florida got a scare five minutes into the second period when Barkov left the game after receiving a blindside hit from Edmonton’s Matt Benning against the boards. Barkov returned to the bench a few minutes later.

Things got a little chippy after the Barkov incident. After Noel Acciari mixed it up with Benning, the Panthers’ Josh Brown and Larsson dropped the gloves at center ice. Both received five-minute majors.

NOTES: Edmonton RW Zack Kassian began his seven-game suspension for kicking Tampa Bay defenseman Erik Cernak on Thursday. … Oilers C and former Panther Riley Sheehan played in his 500th NHL game. … The Panthers commemorated Friday’s second anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings in Parkland with a pre-game ceremony.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Visit Carolina on Sunday.

Panthers: Visit San Jose on Monday.

(© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)