Panthers' Jagr passes Esposito with 718th NHL goal

Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr passed Phil Esposito on Thursday for fifth on the NHL all-time goals list when he scored his 718th against the Detroit Red Wings at BB&T Center.

Jagr beat Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle to put the Panthers up 1-0 at 10:55 of the second period.

It was Jagr's 13th goal of the season, his second with Florida since being acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 26.

Jagr is 13 goals behind Marcel Dionne (731) for fourth most in NHL history. He passed Mike Gartner (708) for sixth when he scored in the Devils’ 5-4 shootout loss to the Red Wings on Nov. 28.

The Panthers won 3-1. Florida (32-25-14) is five points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.