Ducks On a Pond: Anaheim 5, Florida Panthers 4 (OT)

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers had numerous opportunities to blow a struggling Anaheim Ducks team, ahem, out of the water on Monday afternoon.

Yet, after going down two goals on two separate occasions, the Ducks would not go away.

And they ended up getting a win out of it.

Anaheim, which had lost seven of eight coming in, saw Alex Killorn score his second of the day 48 seconds into overtime to lead the Ducks to a 5-4 win.

Anaheim ended up scoring three unanswered goals to pull out the victory.

The Panthers took a 2-0 lead as Sam Bennett got his first of two on the day and Sam Reinhart scored on the penalty kill to extend his goal streak to eight.

But then Killorn scored with 2.1 seconds showing on the clock in the first; then, Adam Henrique tied it.

Florida made it 4-2 on goals from Carter Verhaeghe and Bennett — only to see the Ducks come right back.

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Panthers 1, Ducks 0 (8:29, 1st PP): Sam Bennett drives in and beats John Gibson for his first goal of the day.
• Panthers 2, Ducks 0 (17:35, 1st SH): Niko Mikkola goes coast-to-coast and feeds a streaking Sam Reinhart for his 32nd of the season and seventh in 2024.
• Panthers 2, Ducks 1 (19:56, 1st): Alex Killorn gets loose on a breakaway and beats Anthony Stolarz in the final seconds of the period.
• Ducks 2, Panthers 2 (5:24, 2nd SH): Adam Henrique gets another one against the Panthers — this one from the slot while killing a penalty.
• Panthers 3, Ducks 2 (9:36, 2nd PP): Carter Verhaeghe powers a wrister from above the right circle as No. 23 gets No. 23.
• Panthers 4, Ducks 2 (12:49, 2nd): Bennett gets his second as he one-times a beaut from Matthew Tkachuk from the right circle.
• Panthers 4, Ducks 3 (14:58, 2nd): Jakob Silfverberg gets past Josh Mahura and backhands a shot past Stolarz to bring the Ducks back within a goal.
• Ducks 4, Panthers 4 (3:15, 3rd): Troy Terry roofed a shot over Stolarz as Mikkola made contact with his goalie.
• Ducks 5, Panthers 4 (0:48, OT): Killorn fires off a pass from Cam Fowler and gets his Ducks a nice win.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

1. Alex Killorn, Anaheim

2. Sam Bennett, Florida

3. Adam Henrique, Anaheim

NEWS y NOTES

Reinhart is having quite a season — and start to 2024.

With his shorthanded goal in the first period, Reinhart became the first player in NHL history to score a special teams goal in seven consecutive games.

The first six came on the power play.

He has also scored in seven straight games — becoming the first player in NHL history since 1920 to open a New Year with goals in seven consecutive games.

If he gets to No. 8, he ties the record set by Montreal’s Newsy Lalonde.

— Tkachuk extended his season-long scoring streak to nine games with the assist on Bennett’s second goal. He came into the game with seven goals and 17 points in the past eight games.

— Sasha Barkov left the game late in the third but coach Paul Maurice said it was nothing serious and that he should be fine to go Wednesday against the Red Wings.

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ON DECK

DETROIT RED WINGS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS  

• When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Streaming/TV: Bally Sports Florida/ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL/Panthers App
• Last Season: Florida won 3-0
• This Season (Panthers Lead 1-0) — At Detroit: Panthers 2, Wings 0 (Nov. 2); March 2. At Florida: Wednesday; March 30
• All-time Regular Season Series: Florida leads 37-19-6, 5 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Friday vs. Minnesota Wild, 7 p.m.