Barkov, Panthers complete comeback, defeat Devils in OT

NEWARK, N.J. --Gustav Forsling scored at 1:45 of overtime, and the Florida Panthers rallied for a 7-6 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday.

Forsling and Aleksander Barkov each scored twice for Florida, (47-15-6), which trailed 6-2 to start the third period before scoring four times in 13:02 to tie the game.
"We know we can come back in any game," said Barkov, the Panthers captain. "I think during the second intermission, we just had to forget about it. We still have 20 minutes. We just had to keep going, keep finding our game and that's what we did."
The Panthers lead the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs by seven points for first in the Atlantic Division.
Yegor Sharangovich scored his first NHL hat trick, and Andrew Hammond made 34 saves in his debut for New Jersey (24-38-6). Hammond was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on March 21.
"You can't feel comfortable when you know that team could score the way they do," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "They're the highest-scoring team in the League (4.10 goals per game). Sometimes you've got to make a real tough play under duress, and we didn't make enough of them."

Brandon Montour started the comeback by making it 6-3 on a slap shot at 5:34. Forsling cut it to 6-4 at 7:03.
"Coming back and winning like that doesn't happen too often," Montour said. "We didn't like our first two periods. We were playing slow and made some silly mistakes that cost us, but I don't think there was any doubt in the room. Guys were still kind of fired up."
Barkov scored twice with the goalie pulled for an extra skater, first at 15:23 to pull Florida within 6-5, and then at 18:36 to tie it 6-6.
"He's been Mr. Clutch," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said of Barkov. "In the big moments, he comes through and he was money when it counted. I love to see a little bit of that late game heroics for him because it builds confidence. We're going to need those going forward."
Sharangovich gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 3:25 of the first period on a wrist shot at the right post.
Jack Hughes scored off a turnover 17 seconds later for a 2-0 lead at 3:42 to extend his NHL career-high goal streak to four games (five goals).
Ben Chiarot cut it to 2-1 at 9:02.
Sharangovich made it 3-1 at 2:00 of the second period on a shot from the right circle, and Janne Kuokkanen pushed the lead to 4-1 at 2:45 with a backhand in the slot.
Radko Gudas pulled Florida within 4-2 at 11:11 when his rebound attempt deflected off his right leg and over Hammond.

Sharangovich completed the hat trick with a shorthanded goal for a 5-2 lead at 14:44. Andreas Johnsson made it 6-2 at 16:08.
"We should be talking about an unbelievable hat trick by [Sharangovich], a great game by him, a big win by us," Devils defenseman Damon Severson said. "Unfortunately, we're talking about a great hat trick by him and a loss by us."
Spencer Knight made six saves on six shots for the win after replacing Sergei Bobrovsky (19 saves) to start the third.
The Panthers tied their record for wins in a season and have reached 100 points for the second time. They are four points from their previous high (103 in 2015-16).
"It's been a lot of fun to be to be part of this group," Barkov said. "Winning helps a lot but also playing fun hockey. We're a really talented group, learning from each other every day, every game, every practice."
NOTES: Forward Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists to tie the Panthers single-season points record (96; Barkov in 2018-19). … Florida got its second win when trailing by at least three goals in the third period (Nov. 12, 2019, at Boston Bruins) and its fourth comeback win when trailing by three goals at any point in a game. It was the 20th time in NHL history that a team won a regular-season game after trailing by four goals in the third period. ... Panthers center Anton Lundell had one shot in 13:39 in his return to the lineup after missing 11 games with a wrist injury. ... It was the first time in Florida history that four defensemen (Forsling, Chiarot, Gudas, Montour) scored in the same game. ... Kuokkanen had a goal, an assist, and four shots on goal in 10:21 in his return from missing 21 games with a wrist injury. ... Hughes has scored nine points (seven goals, two assists) during a six-game point streak.