Jaromir Jagr ties Mark Messier in Panthers win

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jaromir Jagr had three assists to tie Mark Messier for second place on the NHL's all-time points list when the Florida Panthers defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout at BB&T Center on Tuesday.
"When I retire I'll look back at what I did, maybe I'm going to think about it a little more, but right now I just enjoy every moment I get a chance to play in this league and try to do everything I can to stay in this league," Jagr said. "I love it so much. I know when I said I want to play till 50 everybody was laughing at me, but I'll work every day to do it."
Jagr has 1,887 points in his NHL career. He reached the milestone by assisting on Nick Bjugstad's first goal of the season at 16:09 of the third period to tie it 3-3.

WATCH: All Sabres vs. Panthers highlights
Roberto Luongo made 33 saves and tied Terry Sawchuk for fifth all-time with his 447th NHL win.
"We're really lucky, you guys as the media, us as coaches, teammates, the fans," Panthers coach Tom Rowe said. "This doesn't come around a lot. When you have two guys with Jagr, who is definitely going to be in the Hall of Fame, [Luongo] is going to be in the Hall of Fame, and to be able to watch it front row is a lot of fun."
Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck scored in the shootout for the Panthers (15-13-5). Barkov also had a goal and two assists. Luongo made saves on Ryan O'Reilly and Kyle Okposo in the shootout.
Keith Yandle also scored for Florida, which played the first of a five-game homestand.
Sam Reinhart, Evander Kane and Rasmus Ristolainen scored for the Sabres (12-11-8). Robin Lehner made 36 saves.

Goal of the game

Bjugstad took advantage of some great passing in a rare shift with Jagr and Barkov to get his first goal in his 14th game of the season. Standing near the boards, Jagr fed Barkov, who then slid a backhand pass across the crease to Bjugstad for a one-timer into an open net.
"It took a while," Bjugstad said. "I knew it was coming when [Barkov] had the puck there in the slot. My stick had to be ready. I knew it was coming. That guy can make plays."

Save of the game

Lehner's lost his stick behind the net and made a pad save after defenseman Jakub Kindl's shot from the point was tipped.

Highlight of the game

Barkov immediately recognized that Jagr had tied Messier when it happened, but it took Bjugstad a second or two.
"I thought [Barkov] was grabbing the puck because it was my first goal of the season," Bjugstad said. "I forgot. I knew he was close; I didn't know it was one more. I was looking at [Barkov], like, don't. Don't grab it. But good thing he grabbed it because it ended up being for something else."

Unsung performance of the game

Barkov's three points really stood out, but he also had a strong night in the faceoff circle, winning 11 of his 15 draws.

They said it

"It's great stuff, no question about it. It's a huge kind of bonus for my job and I appreciate the fans that recognize how I was in second place. I always wanted to play for the fans and I always try to score goals and make great plays for them to come to the game and enjoy it, so I'm glad they appreciate it." -- Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr on the ovation he received for tying Mark Messier
"Right now it's frustrating. But looking back, it will be pretty special to say you were a part of that night. I will be shocked if anybody ever passes him. It's pretty cool to see that." -- Sabres forward Sam Reinhart on Jaromir Jagr tying Mark Messier
"He quietly goes about his work every single day. He's had a tremendous career and he's such a young, young guy already. He shows up every day and delivers and performs unbelievably." -- Panthers coach Tom Rowe on Aleksander Barkov

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Need to know

Lehner has given up six goals on six shootout attempts this season. … Forward Jonathan Marchessault, who leads the Panthers with 10 goals, did not play because of a lower-body injury after being a game-time decision. He sat out for the seventh time in eight games. … The loss denied Sabres coach Dan Bylsma of his 300th win in his 514th regular-season game, which would have made him the second-fastest coach to reach that plateau behind Bruce Boudreau (496).

What's next

Sabres: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Panthers: Host the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, NESN, NHL.TV)