10-30-2018, 08:43 AM
SUNRISE Womens Tom Pyatt Jersey , Fla. (AP) The Florida Panthers are still alive for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re going to need some help, though.Jared McCann scored with 5:37 left and Roberto Luongo got the win in his 1,000th career game, helping the Panthers stay in contention with a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.The Panthers trail the Philadelphia Flyers by four points for the final Eastern Conference wild card and have two games remaining, including a matchup Sunday night with Boston. Florida needs to win both games and have the Flyers lose to the New York Rangers in regulation Saturday.”It would be nice to control our own fate, but we don’t have that luxury,” coach Bob Boughner said. ”Who knows what’s going to happen, but we know we have a job to do. Let’s just hope that we are in a situation Saturday when the puck drops we’ve got a chance to make the playoffs.”The Panthers were also chasing the Devils and Blue Jackets, but both teams clinched playoff spots with victories Thursday.The 39-year-old Luongo became the third goalie to reach the 1,000-game mark, joining Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur (1,266) and Patrick Roy (1,029). Luongo is the 322nd player to reach the milestone overall. He stopped 26 shots Thursday.”It wasn’t easy. I was feeling a little bit sluggish today for some reason, but tell you what, the boys probably played their best game of the year,” Luongo said. ”That’s the best gift the boys could have given me.”Aleksander Barkov scored his 100th career goal, and Florida’s Frank Vatrano scored a goal against his former team.Barkov left the game with 6:51 left in the third period with an apparent upper-body injury after he was checked hard into the boards by Colby Cave. McCann took his spot on the top line and was able to make an impact.”I was ready to go,” McCann said. ”I look for those opportunities every day. I was able to step up.”There wasn’t an update on Barkov after the game.”I know the doctors are back there checking him out, so I don’t have anything as of now. It didn’t look great when he was going off the ice, to be honest,” Boughner said.Danton Heinen and Ryan Donato scored for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask stopped 32 shots.”Yeah http://www.officialsenators.com/authenti...man-jersey , a tough start,” Rask said. ”They came to play, that’s not a surprise to anybody. They’re fighting for their lives and need every point they can get. You have to be ready for that and we weren’t.”The Bruins have lost three straight, their longest losing streak since a four-game skid from November 8-15.”You don’t want to go into the playoffs limping,” Rask said. ”You want to go in full stride and that’s something we have to fix the last two games.”Boston remains tied with Tampa Bay for the lead in the Atlantic Division, but Tampa owns the tiebreaker. Each team has two games left.”We’ve got one out of six points on this trip,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. ”That’s what happens in this league, I don’t care what teams you play. A bad formula to play from behind. Guys have to be ready to go when the puck drops. That’s something we have to look to correct.”McCann tipped in the winner off Mike Matheson’s shot from the left side.The Bruins tied it at 2 on Heinen’s goal 2:11 into the second period. After a defensive turnover, David Krejci passed across to Heinen, who beat Luongo on the stick side.Trailing 2-0, the Bruins closed to 2-1 on a power-play goal by Donato, who corralled a bouncing puck in front and swept it behind Luongo with 4:41 left in the first.The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on Barkov’s goal. Evgenii Dadonov made a nice pass from the right side to Barkov, who tucked the puck into the corner of the net at 7:42.The Panthers went ahead 2-0 after Vatrano, acquired by the Panthers in a trade with Boston on Feb. 22, poked in a rebound at 9:34.NOTES: Bruins F Brad Marchand played in his 600th NHL game. … Donato has eight points in his first 10 NHL games. … A video tribute to Luongo’s 1,000-game mark, midway through the first period, drew a standing ovation, including from Bruins players.UP NEXTBruins: Hosts Ottawa on Saturday night.Panthers: Hosts Buffalo on Saturday night.— LAS VEGAS (AP) Nate Schmidt spent the previous four seasons playing for the Washington Capitals, and he personally experienced the heartbreak of their recent playoff disappointments. The defenseman understands why many people thought this talented, experienced team might never win a championship.Schmidt and his many good friends with the Caps are finally in the Stanley Cup Final this week. Only they’re on opposite benches after the Vegas Golden Knights grabbed Schmidt in the expansion draft and wouldn’t give him back.Schmidt was Washington’s sixth defenseman last season Zack Smith Jersey , but he now leads the Golden Knights in ice time. The improbable matchup in Monday night’s series opener puts a bewildered grin on Schmidt’s face.”Yeah, I don’t think you could have written this up any better for me,” he said Sunday.Both of his franchises are in the midst of banner years, and Schmidt won’t argue with the idea that he deserves a small part of the credit.Or maybe the blame.”I really enjoyed my time in Washington,” Schmidt said. ”I thought that team was special, and we still had a good chance to go and do something, and here they are, proving it.”Schmidt stops himself as another grin invades his serious interview session.”I must have been the reason why!” he said. ”I must have been the problem.”Not likely. Schmidt’s irrepressible personality and two-way acumen have made him one of the Golden Knights’ most valuable players during their improbable inaugural season.He surpassed his previous career highs with five goals and 31 assists while doing steady work on the back end. Given extensive responsibilities in Vegas after playing a smaller role in Washington, Schmidt has taken a major step forward.”The perception of your game could be remodeled and redone, and I think that’s the coolest part of what we’ve been able to do here in Vegas,” Schmidt said. ”You have guys that have been able to revamp their image or revamp their style, and for other guys to grow into the players that people may not have thought they could be.”Schmidt might have had this success in Washington if he had stuck around. He had begun to assert himself in a pairing with John Carlson, the Caps’ No. 1 defenseman.”We were playing together last season, and that’s probably how it would have started out again this season,” said Carlson, who led all NHL blueliners this season with 68 points. ”So there’s a little disappointment from that, but obviously he’s done really well for himself. That’s no surprise. I wish him all the best, but not for these next two weeks.”Schmidt has been particularly effective in the playoffs. Partnered with former Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb in the Knights’ top pairing, Schmidt has provided energy, timely scoring and strong back-end play while Vegas roared past Los Angeles, San Jose and Winnipeg with just three losses.Schmidt knows more about the Caps than his teammates Brandon Manning Jersey , so he realizes the enormity of their task. He’ll lead the Golden Knights’ efforts to minimize Alex Ovechkin’s time and space with the puck.”He’s a beast,” Schmidt said. ”I played against him in practice for a long time, so hopefully I know a few tendencies of his. But in reality, he’s a player that can shoot the puck from anywhere.”Schmidt’s unusual perspective on this series is matched only by Vegas general manager George McPhee. Before the Caps fired him in 2014, McPhee acquired many of the players on Washington’s roster – including Schmidt, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota, in 2013.McPhee acquired him again last summer for Vegas, but Washington general manager Brian MacLellan tried hard to keep him with a post-draft trade. If anybody could have made a deal, it’s these two men, who have known each other for 44 years since their bantam playing days in Guelph, Ontario, followed by college careers at Bowling Green and several years together in Washington’s front office.Not even a childhood friendship could keep Schmidt away from his new destiny in Vegas.”We made our selection, and then he called and asked if there’s any way we could do a deal for him to get Schmidt back,” McPhee recalled. ”And I said, `I don’t see anything, but we’ll try to come up with something to give you a chance to say no.’ We made a proposal that I didn’t think would work, and it didn’t work. Our guys liked Schmidt.”—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals