Jagr passes Hull, Panthers defeat Jets

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jaromir Jagr had two goals to move past Brett Hull into third place on the NHL's all-time list when the Florida Panthers defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 at BB&T Center on Saturday.
Jagr tied Hull with his 741st goal in the second period to tie the game 1-1 and scored his 742nd at 13:37 of the third period to give Florida a 3-1 lead.
"It's great, but I don't really think about it, to be honest with you," Jagr said. "I don't feel like I played really well for a few games, so I wanted to make sure I play a little bit better today. I had a little more jump, so it was pretty good."

Jagr, who had a goal in Florida's 2-1 shootout loss against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, leads the Panthers with 20 goals. It's his 19th season with 20 goals or more.

"It's awesome for him to score those two goals and go ahead of Brett Hull," Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. "It's unbelievable. He had great chances and great jump to his legs. We were happy to see that. We were hoping to get him that hat trick, but it just didn't happen."
Reilly Smith broke a 1-1 tie at 3:58 of the third, ending a streak of 24 failed power-play opportunities for the Panthers.
Smith scored on a wrist shot from the right circle.
"We were working the puck pretty well, and it hasn't been that way lately," Smith said. "I think the puck had eyes getting through there."
Dmitry Kulikov and Jussi Jokinen, who played in his 800th NHL game, each had two assists.
Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo made 30 saves.

Luongo, who had allowed at least three goals in each of his five starts after appearing in the NHL All-Star Game, denied two breakaways in the second period, making a glove save on a wrist shot by Blake Wheeler and poking the puck away from Mathieu Perreault on a deke attempt.
He also denied Chris Thorburn on a partial breakaway in that second period.
"Sometimes you feel like you're following the play well and you're on top of it," Luongo said. "Tonight was one of those games where my body was going toward the puck. That's what I've been trying to do all week, and I'm happy I was able to come through with a couple of big saves in the second and the boys rewarded me in the third."
Florida (34-18-7) is 2-2-1 on a six-game homestand that concludes against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
The Panthers won for the third time in eight games (3-3-2). They came in with a five-point lead over the Boston Bruins atop the Atlantic Division.

Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Winnipeg (25-29-4). Michael Hutchinson made 28 saves in his first start since Feb. 6.
"We had a bunch (of chances) there in the second, went in alone a couple of times," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "But that's what that guy (Luongo) does so well, he's gonna clean up those mistakes and keep you in that tight game. They've got enough firepower up front.
"Sixty-eight (Jagr), you give a good player a little bit of room, he's going to make you pay. You give a great player too much room, he's going to hurt you bad."
Jagr tied Hull at 4:53 of the second period. As Kulikov carried the puck into the Jets zone, Jagr skated toward the slot before redirecting Kulikov's pass. The deflection beat Hutchinson over the glove side.
Jagr's second goal came off a pass from Jussi Jokinen. With his back to the net, Jagr lifted the stick of Jets defenseman Tyler Myers and spun around to flick a shot into the upper left corner.
"You've gotta have great teammates to pass you the puck, and they did it," Jagr said. "I got 20 goals at age 44 because of them. Thank you, guys."
The Jets played without their second-leading scorer, Bryan Little, who is day-to-day because of an upper-body injury.

Already missing center Aleksander Barkov and three other injured forwards, the Panthers lost Jonathan Huberdeau when he sustained an upper-body injury in the first period.
Huberdeau was injured 5:46 into the game when he crashed into the boards behind the Winnipeg net after being checked by defenseman Jacob Trouba. Huberdeau stayed on the ice for several seconds before being escorted to the dressing room.
"It wasn't a dirty hit," Gallant said. "He pushed him into the boards and he banged the back of his head. A little whiplash; I hope he's going to be OK. I don't think it's real serious. It's hockey, it happens to every team, but we're probably going to get a few guys back next week."
Defenseman Michael Matheson, Florida's first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, and forward Kyle Rau each made his NHL debut. Rau screened Hutchinson on Smith's go-ahead goal.

Ehlers opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 14:35 of the first period. With Garrett Wilson in the penalty box for hooking, Dustin Byfuglien's wrist shot from the point went off Ehlers' body as he was fighting for position in front of the net.
"The second period wasn't what we wanted it to be," Smith said. "We gave away too many chances. I think they had two or three breakaways, and [Luongo] did a great job standing on his head. It was great to see [Jagr] kind of take over the game and become third all-time. It's definitely an honor to be a part of this team and history."