Bobrovsky makes 31 saves, Panthers end Penguins' 4-game winning streak

Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves, and the Florida Panthers won 4-1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday.

Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist, and Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Montour each had two assists for Florida (31-27-6), which moved within three points of Pittsburgh for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"I think right now, no matter who we're playing it's a big game," Barkov said. "Obviously, we know we're battling for the spot with them and we need to win, but the most important thing, you don't think too much ahead, you think one game at a time, one period at a time."

Kris Letang scored, and Casey DeSmith made 38 saves for Pittsburgh (31-22-9), which had its four-game winning streak end.
"We have to realize the situation we're in and every game matters," Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry said. "I thought for a handful of games we played more sound, more structured, so I think tonight was a step back, and we've got to learn from it and be ready for Tuesday (against the Columbus Blue Jackets)."
Sam Bennett, who returned after missing six games with a lower-body injury, gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 19:38 of the first period.
"Obviously, it's tough to be out and watch your team, you want to be out there helping them," Bennett said. "So definitely it was a great feeling being out there tonight, and getting a win always feels great."

Aaron Ekblad made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 4:11 of the second. He scored on a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-ice pass from Barkov.
Barkov also returned after missing three games with an undisclosed injury.
Letang cut the lead to 2-1 at 8:51 during a 5-on-3 power play. He scored with a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Jake Guentzel near the edge of the crease.
Eetu Luostarinen pushed it to 3-1 with 10 seconds left in the second, scoring on a rebound in the crease. His goal came 40 seconds after Bobrovksy lunged to his right without his stick to make a sensational blocker save on Sidney Crosby.
"[Penguins forward Rickard Rakell] made a good pass," Bobrovsky said. "He pretty much froze everybody on the ice and then I just rolled what I could and I was fortunate that it hit my blocker."

Verhaeghe made it 4-1 at 9:53 of the third when he slowed up on a rush, looked for a pass and then shot glove side from the top of the left circle.
"I just didn't think we were good enough," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I thought we had our moments, but overall, consistently, shift in and shift out, we weren't good enough. We didn't play with the urgency. I just felt like we got out-quicked on a lot of pucks, and we weren't hard enough on pucks, and it's an important aspect of winning in this league."
NOTES: Penguins forward Nick Bonino won five of 11 face-offs and had one shot in 11:52 of ice time in his first game since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks in a three-team trade on Friday. ... Letang became the sixth active defenseman to score 50 power-play goals, joining Brent Burns of the Carolina Hurricanes (82), Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings (71), Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Vancouver Canucks (58), Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators (54) and Mark Giordano of the Toronto Maple Leafs (52). … Malkin reached 40 assists for the 11th time. Only Sidney Crosby (14) and Mario Lemieux (12) have had more 40-assist seasons for the Penguins.