Aleksander Barkov powers Panthers past Canucks

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Aleksander Barkov continued his offensive resurgence when he helped the Florida Panthers defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 at BB&T Center on Saturday.
Barkov had a goal and an assist, giving him nine points in the past nine games after the center started the season with 11 points in 20 games.
"The kid has been one of our best players since he got here," Florida center Vincent Trocheck said. "Even in the beginning of the year, when he wasn't scoring every game, he was playing great defensively. No matter what, he contributes to the team. Now that he is scoring again, it's not like it's a surprise to us."

WATCH: All Panthers vs. Canucks highlights
Derek MacKenzie had a goal and an assist for the Panthers (13-12-4), who ended a four-game losing streak (0-2-2). Aaron Ekblad scored, and Trocheck had an empty-net goal with 48 seconds left.
Jaromir Jagr had an assist for his 1,883rd NHL point, moving him four behind Mark Messier for second place on the all-time list. Roberto Luongo made 37 saves.
Former Panthers forward Jack Skille and Daniel Sedin scored in a 3:39 span of the third period for the Canucks (12-14-2).
"We had our chances for sure," Sedin said. "[Luongo] was good. But it's still too late. Chasing being down 3-0, it's tough. We made it tough on ourselves."

Jacob Markstrom, who played 43 games in four seasons with the Panthers before being part of the March 4, 2014 trade that sent Luongo to Florida from Vancouver, made 38 saves.
Jagr's assist came at 1:05 of the third period on Ekblad's goal, which made it 3-0. Ekblad scored on a backhand after Markstrom stopped Jagr's wrist shot from close range.
Barkov made it 1-0 2:22 into the first period when he one-timed a pass from Seth Griffith, who became the fifth forward to play with him and Jagr this season.
"It's just one game but they played really well," Panthers coach Tom Rowe said. "Obviously, when you get a chance to play with Barkov and Jagr, you hope a guy takes advantage of it. Seth took full advantage of it."
MacKenzie made it 2-0 at 9:35 of the second. Skille, who played 99 games for Florida, made it 3-1 at 8:06 of the third period, and Sedin made it 3-2 at 11:45.

Goal of the game

Skille scored his third goal in two games. After getting the puck in the Vancouver zone, he fought off a check from Colton Sceviour near center ice, then skated between defensemen Mark Pysyk and Ekblad in the Florida zone before beating Luongo with a wrist shot high to the glove side.

Video: VAN@FLA: Skille shows strength, skill on nifty goal

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Save of the game

With Florida on the power play in the third period, Reilly Smith came in alone on Markstrom after taking a short pass from Jussi Jokinen. Markstrom started falling forward while Smith made a deke to his backhand, but the goalie was able to get his leg on the shot.

Highlight of the game

Vancouver had a chance to tie the game in the final minute. With Markstrom pulled for an extra skater, Sedin was left wide open for a slap shot from the high slot. Luongo made a glove save on the low shot but couldn't hold the puck. It bounced in front of him, but Canucks forward Loui Eriksson couldn't get enough on the rebound to put it past him.

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Unsung performance of the game

Trocheck's stick check prevented Markus Granlund from getting off a shot after he got a pass at the side of the net in the second period, and in the third period Trocheck blocked a centering pass from Sedin.

They said it

"I was a little nervous playing beside Jagr. I watched him growing up. Once the jitters were out, I settled down and started playing." -- Panthers forward Seth Griffith
"It feels like they're all must wins. Everybody's bunched up together. You want to look at it one game at a time." -- Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo
"For me, when we're down, we're playing well, and why is that? We're aggressive. We've got to bring that same aggressiveness early on. We're waiting to see what's going to happen in the game, and you can't play that way. You've got to be more aggressive, create your own luck. I think we've got to fix that." -- Canucks forward Daniel Sedin

Need to know

Panthers forward Paul Thompson, playing in his seventh NHL game at the age of 28, had an assist for his first NHL point. … Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson, who played 309 games in five seasons with the Panthers before he was traded to the Canucks on May 25, played against his former team for the first time. He was recognized with a brief video tribute during a first-period stoppage. "It was fun," Gudbranson said. "It was a pleasure to be here. I had a lot of fun here. Unfortunately, we didn't come out with the outcome we wanted."

What's next

Canucks: At the Washington Capitals on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; CSN-DC, SNP, NHL.TV)
Panthers: At the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FSN-WI, FS-F, NHL.TV)