Seventh Heaven: Panthers Keep Streak Alive, Beat Flyers

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers kept their winning ways going Saturday with Sergei Bobrovsky coming up big in a 4-3 shootout win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Looks like the sauna robes will live on for another day.

The Panthers have won seven straight games and have points in 11 of the past 12 (10-1-1) games.

Down 1-0 going into the second, Florida got goals from Nate Schmidt, Dmitry Kulikov, and Sam Bennett to take a 3-2 lead into the third.

Although Philadelphia tied it, Bobrovsky and Philadephia goalie Sam Ersson had themselves an old-fashioned goalie duel on Saturday.

Bobrovsky ended with 34 saves for his fifth straight win and kept the Panthers in it early. Florida was down 1-0 in the first and being outshot 10-1 before turning its game around.

Ersson stopped 28 shots.

In the shootout, both Sasha Barkov and Evan Rodrigues (2 assists) scored for Florida; Philadelphia only got one past Bobrovsky — it was Owen Tippett — in the five-round skills competition.

With the score tied at 1, Kulikov’s goal at 8:40 of the second was challenged by the Flyers for stoppage of play.

After a long review, the goal stood with the NHL saying “there was no conclusive video evidence to determine that the puck went out of play” prior to the goal.

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Flyers 1, Panthers 0 (4:57 1st): Joel Farabee jumps on a loose puck in front of the net and gives Philadelphia an early lead after a quick start.
• Panthers 1, Flyers 1 (5:32 2nd): Evan Rodrigues feeds Nate Schmidt from the side wall and the Florida defenseman absolutely uncorks one, his one-timer from 50 feet out stunning Sam Ersson.
• Panthers 2, Flyers 1 (8:40 2nd): Dmitry Kulikov goes over Ersson’s blocker with a wrister from the slot. The Flyers challenge for stoppage of play, but the goal stands.
• Flyers 2, Panthers 2 (13:00 2nd): Anthony Richard flies one from inside the blue and beats Sergei Bobrovsky to tie it.
• Panthers 3, Flyers 2 (14:56 2nd): Sam Bennett is on the receiving end of a nice tic-tac-toe play started by Matthew Tkachuk — playing in his 600th game — with Niko Mikkola feeding Carter Verhaeghe. That’s 300 points for Bennett, too.
• Flyers 3, Panthers 3 (9:47 3rd): Garnet Hathaway sends a backhanded shot toward the net and it deflected off of Uvis Balinskis and trickled through Bobrovsky’s skates.
• Panthers 4, Flyers 3 — 5-round shootout: Sasha Barkov, Rodrigues score for Florida; Owen Tippett for Philadelphia.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

• 1. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida
• 2. Sam Ersson, Philadelphia
• 3. Evan Rodrigues, Florida

ON DECK: GAME 16

NEW JERSEY DEVILS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: None
• National Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series — At Panthers: Tuesday, Thursday. At Devils: Jan. 14.
• Last Season: Florida won 2-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Devils lead 58-37-7, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday vs. New Jersey Devils*, 7 p.m. (Local TV)

(*) — Not a Typo. Florida plays New Jersey in consecutive home games.