Verhaeghe, Stenlund score 3rd period goals as Panthers beat Sharks 5-3
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe and Kevin Stenlund scored 1:03 apart in the third period and the Florida Panthers rallied past the San Jose Sharks 5-3 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight win.
Sam Reinhart scored his 12th goal, tied for second-most in the NHL behind Toronto's Austin Matthews and Winnipeg's Kyle Connor, who lead the league with 13. Reinhart also added an assist for his fifth straight multi-point game.
Ryan Lomberg and Aleksander Barkov also scored for Florida, which beat San Jose for the 10th consecutive time.
Matthew Tkachuk had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games.
“I think everyone’s stepping up,” Verhaeghe said. “We have a lot of guys in and out of the lineup. Everyone’s playing well. ... Every win is kind of a total team win. Everyone is contributing in a different way.”
Tomas Hertl and Luke Kunin scored 1:10 apart earlier in the third to give San Jose a 3-2 lead. Hertl’s goal was the 206th of his career, tying him with Owen Nolan for fifth-most in team history. Mike Hoffman scored his first goal as a member of the Sharks.
Verhaeghe tied the game at 3 with his 100th NHL goal. Stenlund put Florida ahead with his fourth of the year.
“We know we can score at any time,” Stenlund said. “We’re confident. We’ve just got to keep working. We did that and we won.”
Sam Bennett appeared to extend the lead to 5-3 less than a minute later, but the Sharks successfully challenged for offside and the goal was taken off the board.
Fabian Zetterlund nearly tied it for San Jose but his wrist shot hit the goal post.
Barkov added an empty netter with 2:13 remaining.
“I thought San Jose played a good game,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “You’re not going to get an easy game out of any team in the NHL when they play as hard as they did.”
Anthony Stolarz made 19 saves to earn his second win of the year.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 27 shots for San Jose.
“There were a lot of good signs overall throughout the game,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “But against a team of that caliber, you’ve got to make sure that you’re thorough in all areas for 60 minutes.”
Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic played in his 1,252nd career game, moving into sole possession of 100th place in NHL history.
San Jose was without Anthony Duclair, who missed his third straight game due to illness.
UP NEXT
Panthers: At Los Angeles on Thursday night.
Sharks: Host St. Louis on Thursday night.
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