Barkov scores two, win streak at four
SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers are spreading the scoring around.
Aleksander Barkov scored twice during Florida’s five-goal second period and the Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Sunday night for their fourth straight win.
Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist, and Frank Vatrano and Troy Brouwer also scored. Mike Hoffman had two assists and has points in 12 straight games, one short of Pavel Bure’s franchise record of 13. Bogdan Kiselevich also had a pair of assists. In all, 11 different players left a mark on the scoresheet for the Panthers.
“After 14 games, I think we’ve found some balance and some chemistry,” coach Bob Boughner said. “We had all lines going after the first period.”
James Reimer made 33 saves. Reimer started in place of Roberto Luongo, who was given the night off after playing in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the New York Islanders.
“I like our chances when we score five,” Reimer said. “In the back end of a backto-back in less than 24 hours, that’s a tough schedule. The guys played hard.”
The Panthers swept a three-game home series and now embark on a sixgame road trip.
“The challenge now is to take this on the road,” Boughner said.
Ryan Dzingel scored for the Senators, and Mike McKenna stopped 35 shots in his first start of the season. Regular starter Craig Anderson was given a rest after playing in Saturday’s 6-4 win at Tampa Bay.
“We were chasing it for a while there (in the second) and by the third it just turned into a contest to see when the game was going to be over,” McKenna said. “It was disappointing, for sure.”
Barkov sparked Florida’s big second period by making it 1-1 3:05 in, and Huberdeau put the Panthers ahead with a power-play goal about three minutes later.
The Panthers then scored three goals in a span of 3:14.