SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Evan Rodrigues tied a career-best with four points, Aleksander Barkov scored a goal off a crazy rebound to break a third-period tie and the Florida Panthers beat the Dallas Stars 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Rodrigues had two goals and two assists, Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida. Niko Mikkola had two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for the Panthers, who snapped a three-game home losing streak.
“We'll talk about the four points,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Rodrigues. “I just liked all the other stuff that he did. He was physical. He was on pucks. He defended real hard.”
Mason Marchment and Evgenii Dadonov scored in a span of 3:36 early in the third period against their former team, pulling the Stars into a 3-3 tie. Radek Faksa and Thomas Harley also scored for Dallas, and Jake Oettinger stopped 26 shots.
“At 3-1, it felt like points were right there,” Dadonov said. “Then they came back and unfortunately we gave up another two goals.”
Barkov scored when a rebound of a high shot came off the boards behind the net and Oettinger looking the other way, putting Florida on top for good. Rodrigues got his second of the night with 12 minutes left to make it 5-3.
“I was just going to the net and the puck was there,” Barkov said. “It was pretty much like empty-net.”
Rodrigues also had a four-point game in a loss at Winnipeg on Oct. 14.
“We knew it was going to be a playoff-type game,” Rodrigues said. “It's a great team over there.”
The Panthers improved to 97-0-4 in their last 101 games, including playoffs, when scoring at least five goals. Dallas fell to 9-2-0 this season when scoring at least four goals.
“You can't give up five goals on the road,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “That's a big ask to score that much, especially against good teams.”
The Panthers and Stars were both two of the final four teams remaining in the playoffs last season. Dallas lost to Vegas in six games in the Western Conference final, before Vegas topped Florida in five games in the Stanley Cup Final.
Florida wraps a three-game homestand Friday against Pittsburgh, a game where Panthers scouting and development consultant Patric Hornqvist — who won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh and finished his career with the Panthers — will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
“Patric’s leadership and unparalleled competitive drive helped to shape the spirit of the Florida Panthers today,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “He is beloved here in South Florida as well as in Pittsburgh, Nashville, Sweden and throughout the National Hockey League, and we are excited to celebrate his decorated career.”
UP NEXT
Stars: At Washington on Thursday night.
Panthers: Host Pittsburgh on Friday night.
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