Bergeron’s late charge carries Bruins
Patrice Bergeron scored twice in the third period, helping the host Bruins beat the Red Wings 3-1 on Saturday for their fourth straight victory.
Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists and Tuukka Rask finished with 30 saves for the Bruins, who have won seven of nine. David Pastrnak and David Backes each had two assists.
Frans Nielsen’s short-hander was the Red Wings’ only goal. The Wings lost despite outshooting the Bruins 31-25.
Maple Leafs C Auston Matthews was to return to the lineup Saturday night against the Rangers after missing six games with a concussion . ... Mathew Barzal notched his first career hat trick and Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves as the Islanders beat the Jets 5-2. Barzal leads NHL rookies with 35 points. At 20-11-6, the Jets still have their best record heading into the Christmas break since they relocated from Atlanta to Winnipeg in 2011. News services man’s shot on the powerplay to deflect it off the pipe. Then, he stoned Erik Karlsson with a glove save after Karlsson broke free while shorthanded. As the seconds ticked off late in the second period, Derick Brassard rifled a shot on Reimer after a Panthers turnover.
Reimer stopped it. Brassard looked skyward in disgust. Ottawa had 13 shots in the second period. None found the net.
It was Reimer’s seventh shutout since joining the Panthers last summer, and first since April 9. In the two games immediately following Luongo’s injury, Reimer struggled. He gave up nine total goals to Winnipeg and Colorado.
The Panthers had nowhere else to turn. Backup Harri Sateri hasn’t played in a NHL game. The trade market or waiver wire haven’t given Florida a goaltender yet. So Florida rode Reimer.
He quelled panic and responded to his dip with a stellar road trip and entered Saturday night with a .936 save percentage in the last six games. Saturday was the jewel of his recent performances.
Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck exited in the third period after blocking a shot. He didn’t play the final 7:32.
As Reimer backstopped Florida and Huberdeau stayed hot, the Panthers finally found what evaded them the first three months of the season: a three-game win streak. Three different times had the Panthers entered coach Bob Boughner
a game with the chance to win a third consecutive one. Three times they lost.
With a win over Arizona on Tuesday and a victory over Minnesota on Friday, the hobbled Senators presented another chance. Ottawa was missing three regulars in their lineup, with defenseman Dion Phaneuf tending to his newborn and forward Bobby Ryan and goalie Craig Anderson injured.
“Tonight’s a chance for us to do something we haven’t done yet,” Boughner said. “It’s a team that’s close to us in the standings. Everybody’s scoreboard watching this time of year and trying to jump up. This is an opportunity for us. We have nothing to save it for with a few days off.”
The win allowed Florida to keep pace in the Eastern Conference, on a night both Boston and the New York Islanders won. The Panthers still have an uphill battle to climb back to mediocrity, with seven points separating them from a playoff spot entering Saturday.
But with four days off, the Panthers will marinate in a three-game win streak.
mdefranks@sun-sentinel .com, Twitter @MDeFranks