National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida 4, Pittsburgh 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, December 22, 2014
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Referees: Kyle Rehman, Brad Watson
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Shandor Alphonso
Attendance: 15947

Panthers 4, Penguins 3 (SO): Aleksander Barkov scored the decisive goal in the seventh round of the shootout and Roberto Luongo denied all seven attempts he faced as host Florida salvaged a split of the home-and-home series.

Luongo made a pair of pad saves to deny Evgeni Malkin and captain Sidney Crosby while going step-for-step in the bonus format with Marc-Andre Fleury (34 saves), who was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week. Barkov ended the marathon by skating in slowly and deking to the left before extending his right arm and shoveling the puck over the glove and pad of Fleury.

Jimmy Hayes scored twice early in the third period for his third career two-goal performance for the Panthers, who avenged a 3-1 loss on Saturday and improved to 4-1-1 in their last six games. Former Penguin Jussi Jokinen also tallied, Sean Bergenheim notched a pair of assists and Luongo turned aside 24 shots.

Nick Spaling (power play) and Malkin scored 1:42 apart late in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie. Patric Hornqvist also tallied for Pittsburgh, which extended its point streak to eight games (5-0-3) despite the loss.

Hayes' sharp-angle shot from the right faceoff circle just 22 seconds into the third gave Florida a 2-1 lead before he poked home a loose puck in the crease 4 1/2 minutes later. Pittsburgh answered in quick fashion as Spaling deflected rookie defenseman Derrick Pouliot's shot from the point with 4:52 remaining and Malkin converted his third attempt from the right doorstep to knot the contest.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Crosby was credited with his 27th assist on Hornqvist's goal 4:39 into the contest. The reigning Hart Trophy winner resides three assists shy of Philadelphia teammates Jakub Voracek and captain Claude Giroux for the NHL lead. ... The Penguins dressed only 11 forwards and seven defensemen on Monday after sending Fs Steve Downie and Brandon Sutter, as well as G Thomas Greiss, back to Pittsburgh to be tested for the mumps. G Jeff Zatkoff was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League to serve as Fleury's backup. ... Penguins D Taylor Chorney had two blocked shots in 6:06 of ice time in his first NHL appearance since 2011-12, when he played in a total of five games with Edmonton (three) and St. Louis.
Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Florida
Simon Despres 2 Points Jimmy Hayes 2
Patric Hornqvist 1 Goals Jimmy Hayes 2
Simon Despres 2 Assists Sean Bergenheim 2
Nick Spaling 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Marc-Andre Fleury .919 Save Percentage Roberto Luongo .889
Marc-Andre Fleury 34 Saves Roberto Luongo 24
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 27 3 1-4 3-3 6 40
Florida 37 4 0-3 3-4 8 31
Upcoming Games
  • Florida will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Panthers have a W/L % of .214 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Penguins have a W/L % of .609 after a win and .800 after a loss.