Luongo shuts out Rangers, Panthers win 8th straight
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) Roberto Luongo stopped 40 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Florida Panthers beat the new York Rangers 3-0 Saturday night for their franchise-record eighth straight win.
Brandon Pirri, Vincent Trocheck and Logan Shaw each scored to help Florida regain first place in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers also set a franchise record with their sixth consecutive home win and snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Rangers, beating them for the first time since April 23, 2013.
Luongo got his seventh straight win, breaking his own Panthers franchise consecutive wins record, and 71st career shutout.
Henrik Lundqvist made 15 saves for the Rangers, who have lost eight of their past nine on the road and 10 of their past 14 overall (4-8-2).
The announced crowd of 20,289 at the BB&T Center was the largest since 20,741 on Dec. 29, 2008 against Montreal.
The Panthers led 3-0 after two periods despite being outshot 24-12.
Ahead 1-0, the Panthers doubled their lead early in the second. Alex Petrovic shot from the point and Lundqvist stopped the shot with his blocker but the puck bounced off Trocheck's leg and into the net at 4:41.
Pirri's power-play goal gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead little past the midpoint of the period. Pirri's shot from the right circle got past Lundqvist with 8:42 remaining in the second, giving the Panther three goals on 10 shots.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on the goal by Shaw with 25 seconds left in the first. Corban Knight passed from the left circle to Shaw in the slot, who redirected the puck past Lundqvist on the short side.
NOTES: Rangers forward Kevin Hayes was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. ... D Dan Girardi played his third straight game after missing the previous five with a cracked kneecap. ... The Panthers end a season-high six-game homestand on Sunday against Minnesota. ... Panthers coach Gerard Gallant received a contract extension announced on Saturday. Gallant will remain under contract through the 2018-19 season.
