Life for the Florida Panthers is never easy without Aleksander Barkov. When their All-Star center is in the lineup, the Panthers play like a team headed to the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. When Barkov’s not, they play like one of the worst teams in the NHL.
They felt much of the usual struggle Friday against the San Jose Sharks in Sunrise, but did just enough to pull out a 4-1 win in exactly the sort of game they can’t afford to lose in their quest to reach the postseason.
They even won because of play from his usual line.
Forward Sam Reinhart scored twice in the second period to erase a 1-0 deficit and Florida led through the entire third period, even surviving a four-minute power play from the Sharks in the last five minutes after star defenseman Aaron Ekblad picked up a double-minor penalty for high sticking. Center Eric Staal scored an empty net goal with 1:39 left to push the Panthers lead to 3-1, finally prompting a celebration from 15,138 inside FLA Live Arena after star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made a trio of short-handed saves.
Staal scored another empty-net goal with 1:05 left to seal the win.
The win gives Florida (26-22-6) its first three-game winning streak of the 2022-23 NHL season — albeit across 13 days because of the its eight-day break around the 2023 NHL All-Star Game — and pulled it back within one point of a playoff spot.
It was also only the Panthers’ third win in 11 games without Barkov this season. It explains how the Sharks, with the fifth worst record in the NHL, were able to put an early scare into Florida.
San Jose (16-26-11) opened the scoring in the first six minutes and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, with a 14-8 edge in shots and 7-3 advantage in high-danger chances. The shorthanded Panthers struggled to sustain any kind of extended, quality possession time with their captain missing after he appeared to hurt his hand while blocking a shot in a rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.
Even into the second period, Florida never dominated the Sharks in the way it could have, ultimately only outshooting San Jose, 39-33. Reinhart, though, gave the Panthers a badly needed jolt when he got loose in transition to tie the game 1-1 with 15:30 left in the second and his slick tip-in goal with 40.2 seconds left gave Florida the lead for good at 2-1.
The win was also only Florida’s sixth come-from-behind win of the season, still tied for the fewest in the league this year.
Eetu Luostarinen, who filled in for Barkov as the top-line center, delivered the primary assist on the go-ahead goal, making a centering pass from the right wing as he fell down. The 24-year-old forward had two assists, two takeaways, a blocked shot and won 5 of 9 faceoffs in place of Barkov, and the Panthers outshot the Sharks, 12-7, when his line was on the ice.
Florida got just enough offense — its power play, in particular, was really hampered by Barkov’s absence, managing just one shot attempt on its only opportunity — and 32 saves from Bobrovsky to survive.
In the end, the Panthers just need wins and they got one Thursday in a situation they’ve struggled to all year.
