LDN - Sports

Jagr scores 760th career goal; Panthers down Ducks

[February 18, 2017] ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jaromir Jagr reached another milestone on Friday night and the Florida Panthers continued terrorizing Western Conference contenders.

Jagr collected his 760th career goal as the Panthers scored three times in less than six minutes during the second period in a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.

The 45-year-old Jagr, who ranks third in NHL career goal scoring, needs 41 to tie Hall of Famer Gordie Howe for second place. Wayne Gretzky finished his Hall-of-Fame career with 894 goals.

Florida has now won four of five games against the Western Conference's best this month while scoring 22 goals. It faces four more West contenders in the next week.

"Any time you can roll four lines and have three sets of defensemen that you can play in any situation, it really helps," Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle said. "It brings a certain confidence to our group. Tonight is a prime example."

Florida interim coach Tom Rowe expressed particular pleasure with his team's defending.

"I thought our guys were unbelievable in the neutral zone, especially our defensemen," Rowe said. "They clogged it up and didn't give (the Ducks) any ice. The forwards came out real hard for the defensemen. The forwards and the defensemen have got to be connected, and they worked great as a unit."

Colton Sceviour, Aaron Ekblad and Derek MacKenzie also scored for the Panthers (26-20-10), who used their sixth win in seven games to move within one point of the Eastern Conference's final wild-card playoff spot.

Goalie James Reimer stopped 35 shots for the Panthers.

Andrew Cogliano scored his 12th goal for the Ducks (30-19-10), who received 27 saves from goalie John Gibson yet suffered their fifth loss in seven games.

"We fed their offense with our inability to execute with the puck," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "We turned the puck over way too many times. If you're going to make a push for the playoffs, you're going to have to bring your 'A' game. We didn't have anywhere near our 'A' game tonight, that's for sure."

Cogliano's short-handed goal gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 2:46 of the second period. But 92 seconds later, Sceviour exploited a turnover to tie the score.

Alex Petrovic began the scoring sequence by poke-checking the puck off Nick Ritchie's stick. Florida's Shawn Thornton slapped the puck to MacKenzie at center ice. MacKenzie's drop-pass found Sceviour, who fired a rising slap shot from the top of the slot for his seventh goal of the season.

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Panthers right wing Jaromir Jagr (68) celebrates his gaol with center Aleksander Barkov (16) and left wing Jonathan Huberdeau (11) against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Jagr's 11th goal of the season put the Panthers ahead at 6:58. As defenseman Josh Manson skated from behind Anaheim's net, Jagr stole the puck from behind Manson at the goal line. Jagr faked several times before depositing a forehand inside the left post.

"He showed what kind of player he is on that goal," Cogliano said of Jagr. "A lot of guys would have made a shot or rushed themselves. But he made a good play. When you give him an opportunity in front of the net like that, he's going to make you pay."

Ekblad extended the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 10:08. Jonathan Marchessault deflected Cogliano's pass at center ice to Vincent Trocheck, who fired a slap shot that Gibson saved. But the long rebound ricocheted to Ekblad, who scored his eighth goal of the season on a slap shot from the top of the slot.

The Ducks had a chance to narrow their deficit when Marchessault received a delay-of-game penalty with 2:37 to play. Carlyle pulled Gibson to create a six-on-four advantage, but MacKenzie's short-handed goal into an empty net ended the scoring with 1:58 left.

Cogliano used a turnover to score Anaheim's goal. Nick Bjugstad's pass to Florida teammate Reilly Smith deflected off Smith's and Cogliano's sticks to Logan Shaw, who freed Cogliano for a breakaway. Cogliano fended off Bjugstad and shot the puck off Reimer's left thigh.

NOTES: D Sami Vatanen returned to the Ducks' lineup after missing the past five games because of an injured knee. ... Florida scratched D Jakub Kindl and C Michael Sgarbossa. ... Panthers G Roberto Luongo needs one game to tie Hall of Famer Ed Belfour for fourth place among goalies with 963 career appearances. ... Panthers D Keith Yandle needs two points for 400 in his career. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer and RW Corey Tropp. ... The Ducks won 50.4 percent of their faceoffs to lead the NHL entering the game. ... The Ducks sent D Shea Theodore to San Diego of the American Hockey League.

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