Jaromir Jagr on Saturday fueled the Florida Panthers on a strong offensive night. Still, the veteran forward was ready to credit the victory to his goaltender.
Roberto Luongo made 39 saves to back a three-point effort by Jagr, helping the Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1.
“The score says we won 4-1, but Lou saved three or four goals at least, so we have to thank him,” Jagr said.
Photo: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY
Jagr had a goal and two assists, while Jussi Jokinen, Jonathan Marchessault and Derek MacKenzie also scored for the Panthers.
“When we got our chances, we buried them, and sometimes that’s all it takes,” Luongo said. “All in all, I made a couple of big saves, but the boys were able to take advantage of the opportunities and give me a little bit of breathing room.”
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored and Craig Anderson made 19 saves for the Senators, who have lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season.
“We did a lot of good things, and we have to build off it,” Ottawa wing Chris Neil said, adding: “If you play like that, you’re going to win more games than you’re going to lose.”
Pageau ended Luongo’s shutout bid when his shot from below the goal line found its way between Luongo and the crossbar at 4 minutes, 45 seconds of the third period.
Through 40 minutes, the Senators had nothing to show for two very solid periods of hockey, other than 27 shots on goal.
At one point in the first, they held a 12-3 advantage in shots, but trailed 2-0 after Jagr had a hand in both goals.
He opened the scoring 25 seconds in when his backhand shot was redirected by the stick of Senators forward Derick Brassard.
Jagr then left the puck at the Ottawa blue line for Aleksander Barkov. He found Jokinen in the slot, and Jokinen beat Anderson high glove side with a wrist shot.
Luongo got some help in the second period when Aaron Ekblad slid to block Mark Stone’s shot after the original attempt by Brassard went off the end boards right to Stone at the side of the net.
Luongo later stopped Pageau point-blank with a sprawling save, then foiled Dzingel on a breakaway.
“We were pretty lucky,” Jagr said. “It’s nice to get a win, but we were lucky and Lou played excellent and was unbelievable in the net.”
Marchessault gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead at 14 minutes, 55 seconds of the second when a blocked shot went right to his stick at the side of the goal. He quickly swatted the puck past Anderson.
MacKenzie scored for the Panthers at 9 minutes, 16 seconds when his shot barely got through Anderson and across the goal line.
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