- On the game, "there are things about our game that I liked tonight but at the end of the day this is a game where when a team makes mistakes on the ice you need to make them pay and we weren't tonight. As good as some parts were, when you look at it from a stats standpoint, we gotta be able to capitalize and make them pay and we didn't and they did."
- On Chris Kreider, "he had something on his hand there so they had to take a quick look at it but I think he got four and they got two so he was right back out there."
- On the hit, "I haven't had a chance to look at the replay so I can't comment on it."
- On them getting bounces, "as the opposition you need to play through that. Luongo had a good night tonight but you gotta find a way to make it harder, better screens, more people at the net. He had a good night but at the end of the day we had some looks and didn't capitalize."
- On the travel, "we just had Christmas break. We just need to put our whole game together, as good as some parts of it was, you gotta make the other team pay for their mistakes."
- On Derek Stepan, "he needs to be better. Like a lot of our players, there is no doubt that the effort and prep is there but at the end of the day it's about results right now and better execution. We saw it tonight, the execution was a little off and we couldn't capitalize."
- On Ranger mistakes, "last minute of a period, unless you are 100%, you aren't going to go through the middle of the ice. He went through the middle and they made us pay for that mistake."
Luongo shuts out Rangers, Panthers win 8th straight
By PAUL GEREFFI
Associated Press
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) The Florida Panthers keep setting franchise records.
Roberto Luongo
stopped 40 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Panthers
beat the New York Rangers 3-0 Saturday night for their franchise-best
eighth straight win.
Brandon Pirri, Vincent Trocheck and Logan Shaw each scored to help Florida regain first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Panthers also set a franchise mark
with their sixth consecutive home win and snapped a seven-game losing
streak to the Rangers, beating them for the first time since April 23,
2013.
Luongo got his seventh straight win,
breaking his own Panthers franchise consecutive wins record, and tying
Lorne Chabot and Harry Lumley for 11th place in NHL history with 71
career shutouts.
"I'm more worried about the standings list than career accomplishments. Our goal is to be in the playoffs," Luongo said.
The Panthers have won 14 of their past 17.
"It's awesome. It couldn't go any
better for us right now, but we've got to keep playing," Panthers coach
Gerard Gallant said. "We've got more than half the season left to go.
They're great wins, but we've got to do it every night."
The announced crowd of 20,289 at the BB&T Center was the largest this season.
Henrik Lundqvist made 15 saves for the Rangers, who have lost eight of their past nine on the road and 10 of their past 14 overall (4-8-2).
"This team today, they had some
really good skills," Lundqvist said. "If we get (a goal) there in the
second, it's a different game."
The Panthers led 3-0 after two periods despite being outshot 24-12.
"There's no doubt that Luongo had a
good night tonight, but you've got to find a way to make it harder on
him," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Better screens, more people
at the net. Yes, he did have a good night, but at the end of the day we
had some looks and we didn't capitalize."
Ahead 1-0, the Panthers doubled their lead early in the second. Alex Petrovic
shot from the point and Lundqvist stopped the shot with his blocker but
the puck bounced off Trocheck's leg and into the net at 4:41.
Pirri's power-play goal gave the
Panthers a 3-0 lead little past the midpoint of the period. Pirri's shot
from the right circle got past Lundqvist with 8:42 remaining in the
second, giving the Panther three goals on 10 shots.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on the goal by Shaw with 25 seconds left in the first. Corban Knight passed from the left circle to Shaw in the slot, who redirected the puck past Lundqvist on the short side.
NOTES: Rangers forward Kevin Hayes was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. ... D Dan Girardi
played his third straight game after missing the previous five with a
cracked kneecap. ... The Panthers end a season-high six-game homestand
on Sunday against Minnesota. ... Panthers coach Gerard Gallant received a
contract extension announced on Saturday. Gallant will remain under
contract through the 2018-19 season.
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