Tarasenko’s 2 goals, assist spark Panthers past Flames
Newly acquired forward gets 1st 3 points with Florida, which has won 7 of 8
By
George Richards
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
Playing his second game since being acquired from the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, the forward had two goals and an assist for Florida (44-17-4), which has won seven of its past eight games and 17 of 20. Anthony Stolarz made 34 saves.
“I am not going to lie. It is nice and kind of a relief,” Tarasenko said of getting on the score sheet after finishing with two shots on goal in his debut Thursday, a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. “It is to kind of understand your linemates and how the team plays a little bit more. I felt more comfortable as the game went on."
Yegor Sharangovich scored a power-play goal, and Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves for Calgary (31-27-5), which had won six of seven.
The Panthers outscored the Flames 4-1 in the second period.
“That is one of the better teams, if not the best team, right now in the League,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said of Florida. “We liked our first period, but we gave one up early in the second and that allowed their transition game [to get] going a little more than we would have liked.”
Tarasenko put the Panthers ahead 1-0 just 23 seconds into the second, intercepting a clearing pass from Jonathan Huberdeau deep in the zone and shooting past Markstrom.
Sharangovich tied it 1-1 at 5:51 on the rebound of a Nazem Kadri shot at the right side of the net.
Florida took a 2-1 lead at 6:19 when Aleksander Barkov took a backhand, cross-ice feed from Sam Reinhart in the right circle and scored with a one-timer.
“It was our second period. We spoke in the room and said, ‘We need to play a little harder,’” said Barkov, the Panthers captain. “We got away from playing hard the past couple of games, but we started back in the second period and we got a good win.”
Sam Bennett pushed it to 3-1 at 13:12, deflecting a point shot from Gustav Forsling.
Tarasenko made it 4-1 at 14:55 with the teams at 4-on-4. His wrist shot hit Markstrom in the pad and got through.
“There is almost no risk in their game for highly skilled offensive players,” Maurice said of the line Tarasenko, Barkov and Reinhart. “They were right on both sides of the puck, and that is exciting for us.”
The Panthers extended the lead to 5-1 with a short-handed goal at 4:33 of the third period. After Eetu Luostarinen forced a turnover, Kevin Stenlund finished on the rush with a slick forehand-to-backhand move.
“We turned the puck over too much, and they are a highly skilled team and took over on transition,” Flames forward Mikael Backlund said. “We got away from our game in the second, started giving pucks away.”
Barkov had a goal overturned at 17:06 after Calgary challenged for offside.
The Panthers played much of the game without defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who left in the first period with a lower-body injury after colliding with Tarasenko. Forward Evan Rodrigues also left the game with a lower-body injury late in the second period after blocking a shot.
Florida coach Paul Maurice said both players would be evaluated on Sunday and that “we will have a really good idea” then.
When pressed about Ekblad, Maurice smiled.
“He’s going to be OK,” Maurice said. “I don’t know when he is coming back, it could be practice Monday or maybe a little longer.”
NOTES: Defenseman Daniil Miromanov made his Flames debut after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday in a three-way trade that also involved the Philadelphia Flyers. He had three shots on goal and seven shot attempts in 18:59 of ice time. … Sharangovich has eight points (six goals, two assists) in his past five games. … Ekblad passed Huberdeau for second in games played in Panthers history (672). Barkov is first at 723. … Florida remained atop the NHL standings for the 10th consecutive day, one point ahead of the Boston Bruins. The only other teams to have longer such runs this season are the Vancouver Canucks (35 days from Jan. 18-Feb. 21) and Golden Knights (28 days from Oct. 12-Nov. 8, and 15 days from Dec. 6-20).
