Jaromir Jagr made history. Roberto Luongo returned to his All-Star form and the injury-list grew to six sidelined starters when Jonathan Huberdeau, second on the Panthers with 40 points, was sent crashing back-first into the end boards in the first period.
And the Panthers ended an 0-for-24 power-play drought that turned out to be the winning goal by Reilly Smith in the third period for a 3-1 victory over the reeling Winnipeg Jets Saturday night at the BB&T Center.
However, this one is about No. 68, who at 44, scored goals in the second and third periods to give him Nos. 741 and 742 to pass Hall of Famer Brett Hull into third place all-time behind legends Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894).
The Panthers have gone 6-0-4 in their last 10 meetings with the Jets at home and haven’t lost to them in Sunrise since Jan. 5, 2011. The Panthers improved to 2-2-1 on this six-game homestand that will conclude Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes in which Florida hopes to get back top-line center Aleksander Barkov and top-four defenseman Erik Gudbranson, both sidelined by apparent concussions.
However, not so certain is the future availability of Huberdeau, who was off balance when he was smashed into the end boards by Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba at 5:46 of the first period. Huberdeau was down on the ice for a few minutes before heading to dressing room with the trainer. Huberdeau sustained what appeared to be an upper back and neck injury and didn’t return.
Tied at 1-1 after two periods, the Jets, who are the second most penalised team in the NHL, gave the Panthers their fourth power play of the game when Toby Enstrom was called for a hook at 2:56. Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov found Smith in the middle of the right dot where he wristed it in for his 19th goal. It was Kulikov’s second assist of the game and it didn’t hurt that 5-foot-8 rookie Kyle Rau — making his NHL debut — screened Michael Hutchinson.
The Panthers hadn’t scored a power-play goal since a 3-2 shootout loss to the Penguins on Feb. 6. The Jets have lost four of five and are buried in the Central Division. Then with 6:23 left in regulation, Jussi Jokinen snuck a pass through traffic to Jagr outside the crease where he wheeled around and flicked it in. He pumped his fists twice and took his second curtain call of the night. He regained the team lead with 20 goals, his 19th 20-goal season of his certain Hall of Fame career.
The Panthers turned to their customary starter Luongo in the net after a two-game performance-related absence, and he responded with 30 saves, several spectacular, for his first win since Feb. 9.
At 4:53 of the second period, Jussi Jokinen kept the puck in the Panthers’ offensive zone and Kulikov whizzed a pass to Jagr, who was calling for the puck in the low slot where he redirected it past Hutchinson.
Moments later, Jagr, who has said he’s not thinking reaching milestones, just reaching the playoffs, waved his acknowledgement to the standing fans.
Panthers forward Garrett Wilson sent to the box for hooking and 13 seconds later, Jets offensive defenseman Dustin Byfuglien’s blast from the point was deflected by Nikolaj Ehlers passed Loungo at 14:35 for a 1-0 lead after one.
Jets captain Andrew Ladd provided the screen. Ladd, 30, is an unrestricted free agent after the season who has been linked to trade rumors, possibly to the Panthers if Winnipeg continues to slip out of playoff contention.
Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said earlier this week that the rash of injuries has ramped up his interest to acquire an offensive forward without, “mortgaging the future.” Panthers co-owner Doug Cifu repeated that Saturday night after hosting a social media fan-related event (Panthers Palooza) before the game.
“We got 4,5,6 guys down so if we could add a nice forward that’s got some skill at the deadline that would make some sense,” Cifu said. “We like the team we have; we’re in first place, what’s not to like.”
Ladd was acquired by Tallon when he was calling the shots in Chicago. Jagr had two prime scoring chances in the waning moments of the period, including a no-look backhand, but saved his history-making goal for later.