Pirri goes from scratch to scorer for Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- This is how things have been going lately for Florida Panthers forward Brandon Pirri.

Forward Brad Boyes had just skated near the outside of the right circle when he dropped a pass near the top of the circle. Almost as quickly as Pirri received the pass, he released a wrist shot that whizzed between a couple of Montreal Canadiens players and rang in off the far post.

Just like that, Pirri had his 13th goal in 18 games, an Ovechkin-like pace that projects to 59 goals over a full NHL regular season.

"They're looking for a scorer in Florida," play-by-play voice Steve Goldstein said during the Panthers'  3-2 loss Tuesday. "He may be right here in this building. That guy."

When the Panthers play the Detroit Red Wings at BB&T Center on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN-US), Pirri will be carrying his third three-game goal streak of the season.

As Florida tries to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference, Pirri has been leading the way offensively. Not counting Dave Bolland's empty-net goal near the end of a 2-0 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, Pirri has scored three of the Panthers' past four goals.

"The coaches have put me in a position to produce," Pirri said. "I've got to prove them right by doing that, and also if I'm not producing I'm not going to be doing my part for the team to make the playoffs. It's just a matter that my teammates are setting me up well lately, and for me it's just trying to shoot everything."

Playing in 37 of their 70 games, Pirri ranks third on the Panthers with 16 goals, one behind Jimmy Hayes and eight behind Nick Bjugstad.

Pirri has missed games this season because of a concussion and a shoulder injury. And he had two stretches when he was a healthy scratch, in large part because of questions about his defensive ability.

The last stretch of healthy scratches came between mid-December and mid-January when Pirri sat 10 times in 15 games. These days, Pirri is too important offensively to sit.

"Everyone wants to be in the lineup every night," Pirri said. "For me, I was just trying to work hard and prove in practice that I could contribute. And when I did get my opportunity I just wanted to produce again. Now my mentality is I've got to produce again or else I'm not going to be in the lineup. I've been in and out all year and practically my whole career. For me, I'm trying to prove something every night."

Pirri had a stretch of six goals in eight games before he sustained a shoulder injury against the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 10.

He missed nine games and returned 18 days later against the Buffalo Sabres in Jaromir Jagr's debut with the Panthers. Jagr and Pirri teamed up on the first power-play unit and the veteran kept telling Pirri to shoot the puck.

Pirri listened and scored twice in a 5-3 win, beginning his stretch of seven goals in nine games.

"We all know he's got a very good shot," forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. "And it's going in often. In the big games he shows up. On the power play we want to give him the puck because he's a real good shot. It's a little like [Alex] Ovechkin; even if the goalie is there, sometimes it's going to go in."

Pirri had nine shots on goal against Buffalo. He had 10 in a 3-2 loss to Montreal on Tuesday.

When the Florida Panthers play the Detroit Red Wings at BB&T Center on Thursday, forward Brandon Pirri will be carrying his third three-game goal streak of the season. (Photo: Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI)

"We have a lot of playmakers that are putting me in position to score," Pirri said. "For me, it's just shoot the puck. I've had a lot of chances every night consistently. You don't have to think about it if you're missing one in the first [period], you're still going to have a lot of opportunities the rest of the game."

He also led the American Hockey League in scoring in 2012-13 with 75 points in 76 games.

"He's around the puck and he's a goal-scorer," Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. "You can't teach that stuff. That's the way he's played his whole career. When he gets opportunities he makes the most of them. The goal the other night [against the New York Rangers] was just a quick shot, quick release. That's what it's all about: Put pucks at the net, and he likes to shoot the puck.

"He's working hard. He's just got to get bigger and stronger, like all the young players. But he's played a lot better and he's working hard. The key is keep scoring. That keeps coaches happy."