The Florida Panthers scored four unanswered goals to beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Friday.
The victory was Florida's third in a row and continued the team's hot start to the second half of the season. With the win, the Panthers now sit at 26-20-10 on the season. Florida would miss the playoffs if the season ended today, but it remains within striking distance of landing a spot. The Panthers currently trail the eight-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs by a point.
After Anaheim took a 1-0 lead in the second period, Colton Sceviour answered back for Florida with his seventh goal of the season. The game-tying score came with assists from Derek MacKenzie and Shawn Thornton.
A little while later, Jaromir Jagr gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead with his 11th score of the season. The goal for the veteran was unassisted and it put Florida on top for the remainder of the way.
The offensive second period continued when Aaron Ekblad found the back of the net for the eighth time this season. Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Marchessault assisted Ekblad on the power play goal.
Late in the third period, Derek MacKenzie padded Florida's lead once more, with an unassisted score. The Panthers were shorthanded when MacKenzie scored his fifth goal of the season.
James Reimer was in the net for Florida and did a fantastic job with 35 saves in 36 chances.
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The Panthers will play the second half of a back-to-back on Saturday when they take on the Los Angeles Kings.
