Jagr scores in 3rd period to lift Panthers over Flames, 4-3
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) Jaromir Jagr and the Florida Panthers were glad to snap their five-game losing streak. They weren't all that satisfied with how they did it, though.
Jagr scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and the Panthers beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Tuesday night.
The 43-year-old Jagr gave Florida a 4-3 lead when his shot from in front slipped past Karri Ramo's glove and into the corner of the net at 8:11 of the third. The goal was Jagr's first in five games, and he leads the Panthers with seven goals. Jagr also had an assist, but the team held a players-only meeting after the game.
''We won, that's a good thing. We feel like we didn't play our best,'' Jagr said. ''Everybody felt like we should play a little better.''
Aaron Ekblad, Reilly Smith and Vincent Trocheck also scored for the Panthers. Roberto Luongo made 25 saves.
Luongo fell to the ice at 15:06 of the third when a slap shot from Dennis Wideman hit him in the shoulder or neck. Luongo stayed in the game after a visit by the trainer.
''It was a bit of a sloppy game in general, but we found a way to win,'' Luongo said.
The Panthers played their first in a stretch that includes seven of eight games at home. They want to make the most of it, especially after losing all three games on a West Coast swing.
''It's a huge homestand,'' Luongo said. ''We've got some tough tests ahead of us and we're going to need to be playing some better hockey if we want to win.''
Panthers coach Gerard Gallant didn't share his players' disappointment with their performance.
''I don't know why they wouldn't be happy,'' Gallant said. ''I thought they played pretty well, for the most part. They made a couple of bad mistakes that cost them a 3-1 lead, but overall we played pretty well.''
David Jones scored twice for Calgary, which lost for the first time in three games. Sean Monahan had a goal, and Ramo stopped 25 shots.
Ramo was disappointed he couldn't prevent Jagr's go-ahead goal.
''He kind of surprised me that he got the puck,'' Ramo. ''He fanned on the first shot and I lost the edge of my skate. I got a push and started to reach. It was a slow goal. There was a lot of bad luck today.''
Calgary tied it at 3 on a power-play goal by Monahan. He grabbed a rebound in front and put the puck past Luongo with 28 seconds left in the second.
Monahan has nine points in 11 games.
''We had chances in the third that we just couldn't finish off,'' Flames coach Bob Hartley said. ''We had some great looks. They had a chance and got the winning goal out of it.''
Ekblad stretched the Panthers' lead to 3-1 when he one-timed a pass from Jagr to the left circle past Ramo at 3:53 of the second.
Calgary closed the gap to 3-2 on Jones' second goal. Jones' shot from in front hit Luongo's glove, then trickled past him into the net at 6:35.
Smith's goal gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Alex Petrovic's shot from near the blue line was blocked, but Smith got the rebound and poked it into the net at 15:43 of the first.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Trocheck. Jussi Jokinen took a shot from the left circle and Trocheck grabbed the rebound and put it past Ramo at 5:16.
The Flames tied the score less than 2 minutes later on their first shot on goal. Two Panthers players collided at mid-ice, opening up a lane for Joe Colborne. His drop pass went off the skate of a Florida player, and Jones grabbed the loose puck and beat Luongo on the stick side at 7:13.
NOTES: Panthers C Dave Bolland returned after missing two games with a hand injury. ... Panthers players wore camouflage warmup jerseys with patches representing all five branches of the military during pregame activities. ... Flames forward Michael Ferland returned to the lineup for the first time since Oct. 23 due to a lower-body injury.
