SUNRISE, Fla. — In a tightly contested matchup, the Florida Panthers edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 following a shootout victory on Sunday night. Aleksander Barkov shone in the shootout by scoring, complemented by Sergei Bobrovsky stopping all three attempts from the Penguins. The Panthers, riding high on their home ice dominance, have now clinched victories in 11 of their past 12 games in Sunrise.
Contributing to the Panthers’ win, Sam Reinhart found the back of the net twice, increasing his season tally to 35 goals. Anton Lundell also joined the scoresheet, ensuring Florida kept up their momentum despite returning from a challenging road trip that ended with a loss against Washington on Saturday.
The Penguins, fighting to secure their playoff aspirations, saw Bryan Rust netting two goals, with Evgeni Malkin adding another to their total. Sidney Crosby played a crucial role, assisting Rust on both occasions and extending his points streak to an impressive seven games. Rust’s goals late in the first period overturned Reinhart’s opening goal, putting Pittsburgh in a 2-1 lead.
The second period was marked by traded power play goals; Malkin’s powerful shot extended Pittsburgh’s lead but Reinhart responded with a sharp wrist shot that sailed between the pads of Penguins’ goalie Tristan Jarry, closing the gap to a single goal.
Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes took a hit with this loss, as they remain seven points shy of the Eastern Conference wild-card slot behind Montreal, with only a handful of games remaining. For Florida, Sunday’s game marks the end of the first of four back-to-back game series that will round off their season.
A crucial moment in the game was Lundell’s equalizing goal, which sent the contest into overtime. With only 5:31 left in regulation, Eetu Luostarinen set up Lundell in the right circle, allowing him to fire a quick shot past Jarry, thus infusing new life into the contest.
Despite a slow start with only four shots on goal in the first period, the Panthers ended strong, accumulating a total of 30 shots by the game’s conclusion. They piled on the pressure with 13 in the second period, 11 in the third, and added two more in overtime.
Next on the agenda, the Penguins will continue their road trip with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, while the Panthers prepare to face the Utah Hockey Club at their home venue on Friday.