The Panthers have won five straight road games, outscoring the opposition 24-10 during the span
Anthony Duclair scored a tiebreaking goal in the second period and Carter Verheghe added an insurance score in the third as the Florida Panthers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Tuesday night.
"Everybody played well, everyone was playing simple hockey," Verheghe said. “It was almost like a playoff style. I think these games on the road are going to be really beneficial in the playoffs.”
Duclair and Verhaeghe matched career highs in goals. Duclair scored his 23rd of the season and Verheghe his 18th as Florida won their fourth straight game. Sam Reinhart 19th, Aaron Ekblad 15th and Sergei Bobrovsky intercepted 32 shots.
Sidney Crosby scored his 19th with 2:09 as Pittsburgh lost its second straight game. Crosby extended his seven-game point streak with his third straight multipoint attempt.
Jake Gentzel scored his 28th goal of the season, and Brian Rust scored his 19th goal in his 400th NHL game. Tristan Jerry made 25 saves as Pittsburgh recently won a 1-1-1 win against three of the NHL's top four teams—Florida, Carolina, and Tampa Bay.
"It's disappointing that we lost two of those three games," Crosby said. "But at the same time, for a good portion of those games, we did good things and that's where we were."
The Panthers have won five straight road games during this period, beating the opposition 24-10. The Panthers, who are 9-2 away in their last 11 at home, won the first five straight road games last season.
"I thought we had done great things that allowed us to win hockey games where we really pecked and defended," said Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunet.
Florida scored their first two goals in less than two minutes in the opening period.
Reinhart batted the puck out of the air from the slot at 12:43, and Eckblad later beat Jari with a shot at 1:55.
Pittsburgh scored twice in the nine-second period at the start of the second period.
Rust's centering pass hit Ekblad's stick and went over Bobrovsky's shoulder for Pittsburgh's first goal. Gwentzel leveled the game at 3:16 after the Crosby faceoff win.
"We fought back in the second period," Crosby said. “But we put ourselves in a tough position to go up against a good hockey team like that. We have to be better, especially from the beginning, to give ourselves a better chance."
Florida took a good lead after DuClaire's power-play goal from the slot at 7:02 of the period. Duclair, who matched the highest points of his career, scored in his third straight game.
"These are good learning experiences," Brunet said. "They were able to do this against a really good hockey team on the road."
Rust reaches a milestone
Rust is the 32nd player to skate in 400 games with the Penguins and the 19th player to skate in his first 400 games with Pittsburgh. A third-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Rust scored 119 goals and 257 points.
Among players who skated in his first 400 games with Pittsburgh, Rust's 257 points is the seventh-highest during that period.
Penguins forward Brock McGuin also played his 400th NHL game, and Ivan Rodrigues played his 100th game with Pittsburgh.
Panthers have power
Florida has scored 11 power-play goals in their last nine games.
The Panthers recently set a club record with two power-play goals in each of their last four matches. Florida, who have been ranked first in the league on the power play since January 1, have not missed a power-play goal in four straight games.
Florida Footnotes
Ekblad's 15 goals are two shy of matching the single-season franchise record for a goal by a defending team. He is the fourth defenseman in franchise history to reach 50 points in a season.
Alexander Barkov has scored as many points in nine of his last 11 matches with five goals and 19 points. He has one goal and eight points in his last three matches.
Jonathan Huberdeau has made an assist in each of his last three matches. He is two from his single-season career-high tally of 62 set in 2018-19, which was also a club record. With 23 points from their last 16 games, Huberdeau has one point in all but 10 games for Florida this season.
Bobrovsky has won his last six road games and improved to 11-3-3 away from home. They have six wins, matching the single-season club record twice set by Roberto Luongo.
Blugger's back
The Penguins' F Teddy Bluger made a comeback after missing the last 16 games with a broken jaw.
He was initially injured in a home shootout win against Winnipeg after a hit from defenseman Brendan Dillon on 23 January. Bluger, a top defensive forward and a key member of the Penguins' penalty kills, has eight goals and 17 points from 41 games this season.
Next
Panthers: Face Philadelphia at home on Thursday.
Penguins: Continue Friday's three-game homestand against Vegas.