National Hockey League
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

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.