Luongo returns from injury, helps Panthers top Flames

CALGARY -- Roberto Luongo made 30 saves in his first start since Dec. 4, and Mike Matheson scored two goals to help the Florida Panthers to a 6-3 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.
"I wasn't quite sure what to expect," said Luongo, who missed 27 games because of a groin injury. "I've been feeling pretty good in practice, but you never know how it's going to translate into a game. I felt pretty good … I think better than I expected. Still not quite as sharp as I want to be, but for the first game back, I thought it was pretty good."

Aleksander Barkov had a goal and two assists for Florida (26-23-6), which has won seven of its past eight games and five straight on the road. The Panthers moved within six points of the New York Islanders for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference; they've played five fewer games than the Islanders.
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Flames highlights]
Vincent Trocheck and Evgenii Dadonov each had a goal and an assist, and Jared McCann also scored for Florida.

"I think our confidence is high," Matheson said. "Obviously that comes with the territory of winning games, but earlier on in the year we were down on ourselves a little bit and we'd get down in games and not be too assertive in our play. I think the past few games we've gone into the games expecting to win, not hoping to win."
Dougie Hamilton had a hat trick for Calgary (30-21-8), which has lost two of its past three games and trail the Anaheim Ducks by one point for third place in the Pacific Division.
"We just weren't executing," Flames captain Mark Giordano said. "It felt like we were a little bit off right from the start of the game. I thought we had moments where we were OK, but then we gave them opportunities and they capitalized."
The Panthers scored power-play goals 2:11 apart early in the second period to take a 3-1 lead.
Trocheck shot under starting goaltender David Rittich's arm 58 seconds into the period to give Florida a 2-1 lead, and Dadonov scored at 3:09 to make it 3-1. Barkov put the Panthers up 4-1 at 6:03.
Rittich, who finished with 11 saves, was pulled for Jon Gillies following the goal. Gillies made 13 saves.
"I didn't think he played bad; some tips and stuff like that," Hamilton said of Rittich. "He's been great. You just move forward to next game and he'll be ready."

Hamilton, in his 400th NHL game, scored his second goal at 12:15 of the second period to make it 4-2.
Matheson made it 5-2 at 3:41 of the third period, and McCann put the Panthers up 6-2 at 5:42.
"We've been doing a lot better job of playing within our systems," Matheson said. "It sounds very cliché, but it's true. Early on in the year, we were trying to get used to it a little bit. Since having a bit of time off at the All-Star break, I think we've been able to come back hard knowing we really can't afford to be leaving points out there."
Hamilton scored his third goal at 11:55. His hat trick is the first by a Flames defenseman since Al MacInnis on March 16, 1992.
"I'm not enjoying it too much. It's tough when you lose," Hamilton said. "It's one of those frustrating games."
Matheson scored on Florida's first shot of the game at 1:09 of the first period. Hamilton tied it 1-1 at 14:10.

Goal of the game

Barkov's goal at 6:03 of the second period.

Save of the game

Luongo against Micheal Ferland at 16:02 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Trocheck's goal 58 seconds into the second period.

They said it

"The goal production was huge, but I thought 5-on-5 we played an excellent game. We didn't give them much other than that lucky goal at the end. We did a great job containing them and not allowing them to get second-chance rebounds and that kind of stuff. Kudos to the guys. They played a great game in front of me." -- Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo
"We just didn't have it. We let one in the first or second shift. That's not a good start. It's tough when you're playing catch-up. We made some mistakes and they had some nice goals; some tips and lucky ones. But we didn't play very good." -- Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton

Need to know

Trocheck has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his past 14 games. … Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak. … Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau's eight-game point streak ended. … Flames center Sean Monahan has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past nine games.

What's next

Panthers: At the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Flames: Host the Boston Bruins on Monday (4 p.m. ET; NHLN, SNW, NESN, NHL.TV)