Barkov scores late, Panthers top Blues in OT for 3rd straight win

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Aleksander Barkov scored with 17 seconds left in overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 2-1 win against the St. Louis Blues at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday.

Barkov won it with a wrist shot from the right circle on the power play after drawing a tripping penalty on Brayden Schenn at 4:17. He forced a turnover in the St. Louis zone prior to the penalty after being on the ice for 2:10.

“They had a good shift in our zone for a long, long time,” said Barkov, who also assisted on Florida’s first goal. “We were kind of gassed there, so I tried to defend the middle. … I was close to the puck, so I just tried to take it away. Fortunately, I got it.”

Florida coach Paul Maurice called a timeout before the power play started, enabling Barkov to return to the ice and score.

“Great moment from a great player, especially with the week he had,” Maurice said of Barkov’s effort, noting he missed two games on Florida’s recent road trip due to illness. “He was probably on the ice for two minutes before he took on the rest of their team. Those are the things special players do for the fans, and for the players on the bench. We sit and watch that in awe. It was fun to be a part of.”

Uvis Balinskis also scored for the Panthers (21-11-2), who have won three straight and six of eight. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.

Oskar Sundqvist scored for the Blues (15-16-4), who have lost three in a row and five of their past six. Joel Hofer made 25 saves.

“It felt like an even game,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “As we know, they are the defending Stanley Cup champions and have been a dominant team in this league for two and a half years now. It’s hard when you lose, especially when we had puck possession for much of the overtime. [Barkov] is a high-end player, and he made a high-end play, and then a big play on the power play. We had a lot of opportunities.’’

Sundqvist gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 10:01 of the first period, shoveling a backhanded shot off the shoulder of Bobrovsky. He was fed a quick pass from behind the net by Alexandre Texier.

“We played a really good game. Felt this game could have gone either way,” Sundqvist said. “We had a bunch of scoring chances in the second, we should have capitalized more on. But I think we took a big step as a group. We went up against a really good team, and it could have gone either way.”

Balinskis tied it 1-1 at 10:58 of the second period with his first goal of the season.

After St. Louis was called for icing and defenseman Niko Mikkola kept the puck in the offensive zone, Balinskis scored off a cross-ice pass from Barkov.

“That was nice,” said Balinskis, who had been the only Florida defenseman who had not scored this season. “I had been waiting a long time for that. It was nice that my parents and my sister were in the stands, so they got to see that. Pretty cool.’’

NOTES: Aaron Ekblad got the secondary assist on Barkov’s goal to tie Stephen Weiss (249) for third in assists in franchise history. Barkov leads with 467; Jonathan Huberdeau is second with 415. … Barkov (nine) is one overtime goal away from tying Finnish countryman -- and fellow Florida captain -- Olli Jokinen for most in franchise history with 10.