The Florida Panthers beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-3 on Saturday to end a four-game skid thanks in part to two goals from Brandon Pirri.
Florida outscored Buffalo 3-0 in the second period which is where Pirri scored both of his goals. This was the first victory for the Panthers since February 19th and only their third win in the last ten tries. With the win, the Panthers now have 67 points and are only two points back of eighth place Boston in the Eastern Conference.
With his team on a power play, Pirri got Florida on the board at the 12:01 mark of the second period. The tenth goal of the year for Pirri made it a 2-1 game at the time. Brian Campbell and Jussi Jokinen picked up assists on the goal.
Only a little more than a minute later, Pirri added another goal to tie things up. Campbell once again assisted on what was Pirri's 11th score of the season. Brad Boyes also notched an assist.
Five minutes went by before Florida added yet another goal to take the lead. This time, it was Nick Bjugstad with his 22nd of the season. Jokinen and Boyes both picked up another assist on the goal.
At the 14:02 mark of the third period, the game was once again tied. Scottie Upshall changed that with his seventh goal of the year. Upshall got a helping hand from Derek MacKenzie and Shawn Thornton on the score.
Wit only 17 seconds to go and an empty net, Derek MacKenzie's fourth goal of the season sealed things for Florida. Once again, assists went to Boyes and Jokinen on the final score of the game.
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Roberto Luongo had a relatively quiet day in terms of chances. It was not the best game for Luongo but it was enough in the win. Only 14 shots were sent Luongo's way and the goalie stopped 11 of them.
Jaromir Jagr made his debut for Florida and wound up with 17:45 of ice time. During that time, Jagr had three shots on goal.
The Panthers will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
