Panthers set franchise record with 8th straight home win
SUNRISE — For eight consecutive home games — including Saturday night’s 4-3 shootout win over the New York Rangers — the Florida Panthers have orchestrated a symphony of last-second wins, blowout thrashings, goaltending excellence and offensive firepower.
They stole games from elite teams and buried inferior ones. They executed on the power play and off the rush.
With Saturday night’s win over the Rangers, the Panthers set a franchise record for consecutive home wins. The previous high was seven in a row, set in 2015-16, when the team won the Atlantic Division championship.
Frank Vatrano scored a goal in his Panthers debut; Jonathan Huberdeau and Jamie McGinn also scored. Roberto Luongo withstood a strong Rangers attack in the first period to steady the Panthers and finish with 34 saves.
Vincent Trocheck scored the goal for the Panthers in third round of the shootout.
The win was Florida’s 15th in 19 games since the All-Star break. Since the break, the Panthers are 10-1-0 at the BB&T Center and the team has not lost consecutive home games since early December.
The Panthers also improved to 22-0-0 when leading after two periods. Florida entered the day three points behind New Jersey for the second Eastern Conference wild card spot with three games in hand. The Devils played at Nashville on Saturday night.
The Rangers largely controlled the first period, firing 15 shots on goal. They had three shots in the first 90 seconds and seven of the game’s first eight shots. Kevin Hayes forced Luongo deciding the to make a save on a shorthanded breakaway.
But New York couldn’t break through. So even when they were outplayed, the Panthers entered the dressing room with a lead courtesy of Huberdeau.
Huberdeau scored with just 15 seconds remaining in the first period, tapping home a loose rebound on a power play. After Trocheck challenged Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist with a shot, the puck squeaked behind him and lay in the crease. Huberdeau pounced on the puck for his 22nd goal of the season.
Vatrano extended the lead 8:13 into the second period with his first goal since Nov. 11. After recovering from a high ankle sprain that had kept him on injured reserve, Vatrano skated on the second line with Huberdeau and Trocheck.
The trio enjoyed an extended possession in the Rangers zone before Trocheck fed Vatrano a no-look backhanded pass from the corner. Vatrano easily scored his third goal of the season, injecting offense into the second line that has been partially missing since Denis Malgin injured his knee Feb. 24.
The Rangers scored the next two goals, with Mats Zuccarello scoring with less than seven minutes left in the second period and Mika Zibanejad scoring just 17 seconds into the third period.
McGinn answered Zibanejad’s goal 45 seconds later by slamming home a rebound in the slot. Kevin Hayes tied the game with 7:25 left by sneaking a shot past Luongo’s blocker inside the post.
The Panthers are amid perhaps the most favorable part of their schedule.
The Rangers are one of a series of non-playoff teams the Panthers will face soon. Florida faces Ottawa three times, plus bottom-feeders Edmonton, Arizona and Buffalo in the final 17 games.
mdefranks@sun-sentinel.com, Twitter @MDeFranks