FLORIDA PANTHERS vs. DALLAS STARS
MAY 3, 2021
BB&T Center – Sunrise, Fla.
| FLORIDA PANTHERS | DALLAS STARS |
| 5 | 4 |
[OVERTIME]
- Florida improved to 35-14-5 and 9-2-1 over their past 12 games. They finished their season series against Dallas with a 6-2-0 record.
- The Panthers’ 10 overtime wins are the most among all teams this season as well as the most in franchise history in a single campaign.
- Aleksander Barkov scored his second overtime game-winner of the season, and the sixth of his career. His six career OT goals are now the second-most in club history.
- Barkov has posted three points (2-1-3) over his past two games. He leads FLA with 26 goals this season. Barkov also notched his 30th assist of the season, marking his sixth consecutive season with at least 20 goals and 30 assists.
- Spencer Knight stopped 25 of 29 DAL shots and improved his record to 4-0. He is the youngest goaltender in NHL history to begin their career with 4-0 record (20 years, 14 days).
- Jonathan Huberdeau tallied his 19th goal of the season. He has produced 17 points (5-12-17) over his past 12 games.
- MacKenzie Weegar scored his fifth goal of the season and added an assist (1-1-2). He has amassed five points (1-4-5) over his past four games.
- Nikita Gusev scored a goal for the second consecutive game.
- Gustav Forsling tallied his fifth goal of the season.
- Grigori Denisenko registered his first career multi-point game, notching two assists. He has posted an assist in each of his past three games (0-4-4).
- Owen Tippett recorded two assists. He has posted five points (2-3-5) over his past four games.
- Keith Yandle produced two assists. He is one point shy of his 600th NHL point.
- Radko Gudas led FLA with six hits.
- Nine different Panthers recorded at least a point.
PANTHERS POSTGAME QUOTES – MAY 3, 2021
Head Coach Joel Quenneville
“I thought we did a good job after (Dallas tied the game). I thought we generated some looks and all of a sudden we’re in their end again and put ourselves back in the game…I thought that for the most part tonight we did a lot of good things.”
“I thought [goaltender Spencer Knight] settled down after that (Dallas tied the game), found a way to win. There’s some good things to take out of that game going forward and look to improve upon. But he does a lot of good things.”
“You’re going to need a lot of guys that are going to be participating if you want to go the long long way. These guys really helped themselves as far as improved performance over the course of the season…Whether it’s Deni [forward Grigori Denisenko] or Hepo [forward Aleksi Heponiemi], Tipp’s [forward Owen Tippett] coming along nicely in a greater role as well. Their additions have been really good and I think it’s healthy for the decisions we have to make.”
Forward Owen Tippett
“We knew the push was coming, but for us to get the one point and then the second in overtime was huge.”
“When I see Huby [forward Jonathan Huberdeau] coming down with me, it’s an easy decision to make. Weegsy [defenseman MacKenzie Weegar] was in a great spot and made a nice shot on the second one.”
“It’s always key to get off to a good start. I don’t think it’s any line, just as a team you want to get out to a good start and always get that first one.”
Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar
“They (Florida’s rookies) looked solid. On the bench, me and Gudy [defenseman Radko Gudas] were talking about them. They’re playing the right way and they’re getting rewarded for it. They’re getting good chances, but when you’re playing well defensively and playing hard, that’s what they’re doing. It’s good to see, the future is bright here.”
“I think we played a solid 60 minutes. We found a way to get the two points, but we’ve got to clean a few things up in that third period for sure.”
“[Forward Aleksander Barkov] is a pretty exciting player to watch. I think a month or two ago, I was sitting in here with him and called him the best player in the world. I truly stand by that. I think when he’s playing on top of his game like this, I think he’s unstoppable. He’s a great leader and he really bring it on the ice and off the ice. I can’t really say enough good things about him.”
Defenseman Gustav Forsling
“(Dallas) came out really hard in the third (period) there, I think it’s good that we calmed ourselves down and got back to the game. Took it to overtime, good to get the win here.”
“To produce a little bit offensively and get some points is always fun, but I just try to play my game defensively first.”
“We want to keep the playoff mentality like we’ve been doing for the past 15-20 games. Just going to keep it going. You can’t settle back and take it easy, you’ve just got to keep playing like you want to play in playoffs.”
