Florida 5, San Jose 1
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 8, 2019
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees:
Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, Brad Kovachik
Attendance:
11340
By Field Level Media
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky won his second game in as many nights as his Florida Panthers defeated the visiting San Jose Sharks 5-1 on Sunday at Sunrise, Fla.
Bobrovsky made 30 saves while the Panthers got goals from Keith Yandle, Aleksander Barkov, Mike Matheson, Brett Connolly (his team-high 14th of the season) and Frank Vatrano (empty-netter). Yandle and Connolly both scored on power plays, while Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad added two assists.
Kevin Labanc scored for the Sharks, ending San Jose's 0-for-23 power-play drought over the previous 10 games. Martin Jones made 28 saves for the Sharks, who have lost four straight games.
The Sharks, who entered this weekend with the No. 1 penalty-kill unit in the NHL, gave up two power-play goals in Saturday's 7-1 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning and two more against Florida. The Sharks had allowed just nine power-play goals all season entering Saturday.
On Sunday, Florida opened the scoring with 4:31 expired in the first on Yandle's shot from above the left circle. With two Panthers players looking for a deflection, Yandle's shot handcuffed Jones, trickling in off of his glove. The power play had been set up by Labanc, who was caught hooking Vatrano.
The Panthers made it 2-0 with 8:15 gone in the first as Barkov tapped the puck in after a great pass from Evgenii Dadonov, who waited a couple of extra seconds for the perfect opening.
San Jose cut its deficit to 2-1 with 10:13 elapsed in the first. Ekblad was penalized for interference, and San Jose cashed in just 16 seconds later as Labanc zipped a high shot through heavy traffic.
Florida extended its lead to 3-1 with 6:32 gone in the second. Matheson's low shot from the high slot trickled through the five hole, ending his 28-game goal drought dating back to last season.
Connolly's goal with 9:41 left in the third virtually put San Jose away as he swept in a rebound off a Mike Hoffman shot. Vatrano's empty-netter came with 1:29 left in the game.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| San Jose |
|
Florida |
|
Kevin Labanc 1 |
Points |
Aleksander Barkov 2 |
|
Kevin Labanc 1 |
Goals |
Aleksander Barkov 1 |
|
Evander Kane 1 |
Assists |
Aaron Ekblad 2 |
|
Kevin Labanc 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Keith Yandle 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Martin Jones .875 |
Save Percentage |
Sergei Bobrovsky .968 |
|
Martin Jones 28 |
Saves |
Sergei Bobrovsky 30 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| San Jose
|
31 |
1 |
1-3 |
2-4 |
23 |
23 |
| Florida
|
33 |
5 |
2-4 |
2-3 |
11 |
21 |
Upcoming Games
-
Florida will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Panthers have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .643 after a loss.
-
San Jose will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Sharks have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .294 after a loss.
For more information, contact us