FLORIDA PANTHERS vs. DALLAS STARS
FEB. 22, 2021
BB&T Center – Sunrise, Fla.
| FLORIDA PANTHERS | DALLAS STARS |
| 3 | 1 |
- Florida improved to 12-3-2 and have not lost two consecutive games this season. The Panthers are 5-0-0 in games following a loss.
- Aaron Ekblad tallied his career-high sixth goal of the season.
- Jonathan Huberdeau notched his team-leading 16th assist of the season. Tonight’s game was his 553rd game as a Panther, passing Scott Mellanby for sixth-most games played and fifth-most by a skater in franchise history.
- Keith Yandle tallied the game-winning goal, his third goal of the season and leads Florida’s defensemen with 13 points (3-10-13).
- Patric Hornqvist registered his first fighting major of the season against DAL defenseman John Klingberg.
- Aleksander Barkov scored his seventh goal of the season, tied for second-most on Florida.
- Chris Driedger stopped 24 of 25 DAL shots (.960 save percentage) and has registered a win in his past four starts. He owns a 7-1-1 record through nine appearances this season.
- FLA out-shot DAL 52-25, including 29-4 in the second period. Patric Hornqvist recorded a game-high seven shots on goal.
- Florida’s 29 shots on goal in the second period eclipsed the previous franchise record of 28 in the second period against WSH on Oct. 20, 2005 (3-2 W).
- The Panthers’ 52 total shots are tied for fifth-most shots in a game in franchise history and the most since they registered 53 on Jan. 15, 2019 at MTL.
- Florida’s 52 shots are the most by any NHL team this season and the second time a team has registered 50 or more shots (NYR, Jan. 19 vs. NJD).
- Tonight’s game is the 13th time in franchise history the Panthers have recorded 50 or more shots in a game.
PANTHERS POSTGAME QUOTES – FEB. 22, 2021
Head Coach Joel Quenneville
“The guys are coming to play each and every night, doing what we have to do. Playing right has been very noticeable… If you play hard and you play with purpose, you give your chance shift in, shift out.”
“It was fun to watch, guys really had a lot of energy, had great speed.”
“He [goaltender Chris Driedger] made a couple of big saves after the first goal. I thought he settled down a little bit. I thought the third (period), he still finds a way to battle, keeping composure in some tight situations. He does what he has to do. I like the way he keeps moving on.”
Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar
“We found our legs in the second (period), I think we just kept coming at them. Give credit to the goaltender over there, he made some big saves for them and kept them in the game. I thought we really took it to them in the second.”
“Eky [defenseman Aaron Ekblad] is such a great player, he’s an elite player. You give that shot to him, most nights he’s going to score that one. We needed that and we took off after that.”
“It just shows what kind of team we are. We’re all competitors out there, we’re a resilient team, we’re fast, we just keeping coming at you…It’s tough to defend us.”
Goaltender Chris Driedger
“It was a pleasure to watch. The guys went to work in the second. I haven’t seen a period that dominant in a long time. The guys did a great job. For me, I’m just trying to stay in it. Dobby was kind of standing on his head over there.”
“We were coming hard, and that’s good hockey. We have a good team this year and the guys have been going to work.”
Forward Aleksander Barkov
“It was a great fight between two Swedes. Horny [forward Patric Hornqvist] is a great teammate, a great leader. He would do anything to get the team going. To have a guy like him, on the ice and in the locker room and on the bench, he’s a huge plus for us.”
“He [DAL goaltender Anton Khudobin] was great last year in the playoffs, he was in a big role for Dallas to get them to the (Stanley Cup) Final. He’s doing that this season, too. He’s a great goalie.”
