Panthers stop Golden Knights
Aaron Ekblad helped the Panthers get a big win and spoil former coach Gerard Gallant’s return to Sunrise, Fla., on Friday night.
Ekblad scored 40 seconds into overtime to give Florida a 4-3 victory over Gallant’s new team, the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ekblad grabbed a rebound off a shot by Aleksander Barkov in the high slot and fired it past goalie Malcolm Subban.
“One of their players batted it out (of the net) and right on my stick,” Ekblad said. “Got lucky it sat nice and didn’t bounce over.”
Gallant, fired by the Panthers in November 2016, was hired to coach the expansion Golden Knights in April. Making his first visit since his dismissal, Gallant got a standing ovation during a scoreboard video tribute in the first period. Gallant acknowledged the tribute with a wave of his hand.
“I don’t get too emotional,” Gallant said. “I enjoyed my time here, we had a good run, and the fans treated me well.”
Barkov scored his leagueleading fifth short-handed goal and had two assists. Evgenii Dadonov and Jamie McGinn also scored and James Reimer stopped 33 shots.
William Karlsson had a goal and an assist, and James Neal and David Perron also scored for Vegas. Subban finished with 22 saves. Ducks 2, Kings 1: Ryan Kesler deflected home Francois Beauchemin’s shot for the tie-breaking goal with 7:39 to play and host Anaheim won its second Freeway Faceoff in seven days over Los Angeles. Adam Henrique scored early in the third period, and John Gibson made 23 saves for the Ducks, who have won six of nine overall. Jonathan Quick stopped 29 shots in the Kings’ sixth consecutive loss, extending their longest skid of the season. Canadiens 3, Capitals 2: Max Pacioretty had two goals and an assist to help visiting Montreal break a three-game losing streak with a win over Washington. Paul Byron also scored for the Canadiens. Antii Niemi, playing in place of Carey Price — who had been in goal for eight consecutive games— stopped 24 shots. John Carlson and Lars Eller scored for the Capitals, and Philipp Grubauer finished with 22 saves. Briefly: Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk will have surgery on his left knee and will be out indefinitely. He said Friday that he has a meniscus tear in the knee that he has been playing through all season . ... Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to be sidelined for at least five weeks because of cracked ribs, NHL.com reported. He was placed on injured reserve Thursday after he was injured Jan. 13.