CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - Jared McCann didn't get a lot of sleep last night. After scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at BB&T Center on Tuesday night, the 21-year-old center watched replay after replay, relishing the biggest moment of his young NHL career.
Notebook: No Sleep For McCann; Luongo Leading the Way
"It was definitely hard to sleep, for sure," McCann said after Wednesday's practice.
McCann gave a lot of credit to defenseman Aaron Ekblad for the pass that sent him up the ice in overtime, saying that he was "just trying to build some speed and attack them in the zone." With the puck on his stick in the neutral zone, McCann cut past a defender before scoring off a wrist shot on a breakaway at 3:37 of the extra frame to lift Florida to its 10th win in the last 13 games.
"I'm an Ontario kid, too, so to get it against Toronto was very special," McCann said.
Prior to Tuesday night's game, McCann had taken just five overtime shifts this season, posting just 4:42 of ice time during the extra session. But as he looked down his bench midway through the heated 3-on-3 battle, Panthers coach Bob Boughner believed McCann deserved a shot.
"The reason he was out there in overtime was because I thought he had a great game," Boughner said. "I thought he played one of his strongest games, 200-foot game and they had a good assignment tonight, that's a good lineup. It was nice to see. He deserved to be out there."
After drawing the tough assignment of shutting down a line of Tomas Plekanec, Zach Hyman and William Nylander against Toronto, McCann's line, which also features Jamie McGinn and Maxim Mamin, limited the trio to seven scoring chances at even strength, with Boughner saying that he thought they "did really, really well."
"I just feel like I've been playing with more confidence," said McCann, who has 17 points (7-10-17) in 47 games this season. "When the coach shows he has confidence in you, you play with more yourself. Moving forward, I feel like he's got more confidence in me now."
At 5-on-5, McCann has been on the ice for 18 goals for and 15 against, with his GF% of 54.55 ranking second on the Panthers behind only Jonathan Huberdeau among players with at least 100 even-strength minutes of ice time this season.
A former 30-goal scorer in juniors, McCann believes his natural abilities on offense have helped turn him into a better defensive player this season because "it's easier for me to read the zone, read what other guys are going to do. I use that to my advantage."
Boughner said he's been impressed with McCann's commitment to becoming a two-way player.
"Not only does he have to create some offense, but the most important thing is that he can't be a liability in the defensive end," Boughner said. "He's really concentrated hard on that."
LUONGO LEADING THE WAY
Roberto Luongo has somehow managed to look better than ever since returning from a groin injury that caused him to miss more than two months of action.
After a 37-save performance against Toronto, the 38-year-old goaltender improved to 4-1-0 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage since returning to the lineup on Feb. 17 in Calgary.
"He's been phenomenal," Panthers defenseman Alexander Petrovic said. "He's won us every game since he's been back. We try not to make it too hard on him that way, but when something breaks down, which is going to happen in a game, he's always there to have our backs. He's been awesome."
In 20 starts this season, Luongo appears to be fending off Father Time once again, posting an incredible .927 save percentage, which is the highest since he finished third in Vezina Trophy voting during the 2010-11 season with the Vancouver Canucks.
"If we have a bad period, we're going to hear it from Lou, which is good," Petrovic said. "I think everyone gets going from that... If we can just bear down and get these wins for Lou here, it's just another reason for us to do well and make the playoffs."
With the Panthers sitting just five points out of a playoff spot with three games in hand, Luongo will be in net once again when the New Jersey Devils visit Sunrise on Thursday in the first game of a back-to-back set at BB&T Center. Backup James Reimer, who hasn't played since Feb. 18, is expected to start on Friday against the Buffalo Sabres.
"Lots of games and we've got to make sure Louie's in a good spot," Boughner said. "I think Louie's been our best player, probably. Since he's been back he's been very consistent and given us a chance every night."
WEDNESDAY'S PRACTICE LINEUP
The Panthers held an optional practice, so there is no lineup to report today.
McCann, Radim Vrbata, Colton Sceviour, Connor Brickley, Micheal Haley, Derek MacKenzie, MacKenzie Weegar, Ian McCoshen, Petrovic and Reimer all skated, while several players that played major minutes on Tuesday, including Aleksander Barkov (27:27) and Vincent Trocheck (23:46) all got some much-needed rest.
"I'm just trying to manage those guys and get them proper rest," Boughner said. "We had a lot of heavy minutes last night, especially Barky and Troch up front. Just making sure they get rest. Obviously two games in two nights coming up… just trying to manage it."
