Panthers Damage Bruins' Playoff Chances, 4-2
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SUNRISE (AP) – Roberto Luongo earned his 401st career win and Jaromir Jagr got his 1,800th career point Thursday night, helping the Florida Panthers beat Boston 4-2, damaging the Bruins' playoff hopes.
The Bruins have lost two straight after winning their previous five games. They trail Ottawa by two points and Pittsburgh by one for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bruins have the tie-breaker over the Senators and finish Saturday at Tampa Bay.
Ottawa finishes at Philadelphia.
Boston's loss also secured playoff berths for the Islanders and Red Wings.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored the go-ahead goal, while Jimmy Hayes, Brad Boyes and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers. Luongo stopped 34 shots and is tied with Chris Osgood for 10th in career wins.
Jagr had two assists. The first gave him 1,799 career points and moved him past Ron Francis for sole possession of fourth place. Jagr's second assist gave him 1,800 points and he tied Adam Oates for sixth in assists with 1,079.
Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron scored for the Bruins. Tuukka Rask made 26 saves.
Florida won for the first time in three games.
Huberdeau put the Panthers ahead 2-1 with his third-period goal. Huberdeau took a shot from the far left of the net and the puck bounced past Rask. Huberdeau tied his career high with 14 goals.
Boyes stretched the Panthers' lead to 3-1. He took a pass from Dave Bolland from behind the net in the slot and poked the puck past Rask.
Marchand closed the Bruins to 3-2 when he brought the puck out from behind the net and shot behind Luongo with 6:45 to go in regulation.
But Hayes made the score 4-2 when he wristed the puck past Rask from the slot with 4:46 left.
Bergeron put the Bruins ahead 1-0 on a power play. Torey Krug took a shot that was blocked by Luongo. The puck went off the stick of Loui Eriksson and Bergeron swept in the rebound from the left side early in the second period.
Barkov tied the score at 1 on his power-play goal late in the second. Barkov got a pass from Jagr in the right circle and took a slap shot that went between the legs of Rask. Barkov has nine points in his past nine games.
NOTES: Jagr played in his 1,549th game, tying him for 11th on the NHL list with Alex Delvecchio, who played for the Detroit Red Wings from 1950-1973. . Panthers D Erik Gudbranson left in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return . .. F Jussi Jokinen has 300 assists . ... The Panthers activated G Al Montoya, out since March 3 with a groin injury. Backup G Dan Ellis was sent back to San Antonio, where he will play in the AHL playoffs. ... Bruins D Dougie Hamilton missed his ninth straight game with an undisclosed injury.
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