Recap: Ducks Can't Find Late Tying Goal in 5-3 Loss to Florida

The Ducks pulled within one on Isac Lundestrom's penalty shot goal in the final minutes of regulation, but the Florida Panthers held on for a 5-3 victory over Anaheim tonight at Honda Center.
DUCKS STREAM | NHL GAMECENTER | PHOTO GALLERY

The loss dropped Anaheim to 4-8-1 on the season and 2-2-0 on home ice. Despite the setback, the Ducks have earned points in three of their last five games (2-2-1).

Ryan Strome led Anaheim offensively with two points, helping the Ducks get back in the game by factoring in on two goals scored just 27 seconds apart midway through the second period. Lundestrom and Adam Henrique also scored. John Klingberg, Kevin Shattenkirk and Troy Terry added assists.
John Gibson stopped 42-of-46 Florida shots in his 10th start of the season. Gibson leads NHL netminders in saves (320) and is fourth in time on ice (544:57).
Brandon Montour, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart (twice) and Sam Bennett scored for Florida. Spencer Knight stopped 32-of-35 shots for his fourth win of the season. Knight has won both of his two career starts against Anaheim.
Florida scored the lone goal of the opening period, claiming the lead on a point shot from Montour tipped home in front by Verhaeghe.
Montour, a 2014 second-round pick who played his first 169 NHL games as a Duck and was part of the club's run to the 2017 Western Conference Final, has 11 points in his first 11 games this season.
Verhaeghe has goals in four of his last five games (6-3=9). He leads Florida in goals (eight) and ranks second in points (12).
The Panthers momentarily doubled their advantage early in the second on another point blast by Montour. This time, the former Duck blueliner got the long bid through himself, sneaking his shot through traffic in front and past Gibson.
Montour has seen an increased role this season in the absence of Mackenzie Weegar, who went back to Calgary in the Matthew Tkachuk trade. Montour leads Florida defensemen in scoring, goals, assists, power-play points (three) and average ice-time (26:34).
Anton Lundell grabbed the secondary assist on both goals, and now has four helpers in his last three games (0-4=4). The 12th overall selection in the 2020 draft, Lundell ranks fourth among his draft class in points (52) and first in plus/minus (+38).
Winger Alexei Hepomiemi also collected an assist, his fourth career NHL point.
Facing a uphill climb and two-goal deficit for the second time in 24 hours, the Ducks responded just how it did a night ago in San Jose, burying two quick ones of their own to suddenly even the score.
On this night it would be a terrific shift by Strome to help spark the comeback as the offseason signee served as the catalyst on both tallies, scored just 27 seconds apart.

The first came on a seeing-eye shot from just inside the blue line. As Anaheim gained the zone, Henrique dropped a pass for Strome before turning and hustling towards the net. Strome got rid of his shot quickly to take advantage of his linemate's pressure, using defenseman Gustav Forsling as a screen and firing his bid about hip-high. Henrique got a tip on it from inside the faceoff circle, changing its speed and direction enough to fool Knight and bring the Ducks back within one.
Henrique has four goals in his last four games (4-0=4). His next goal will mark 100 scored in an Anaheim sweater.
Klingberg extended his scoring streak to four games (0-5=5) with the secondary assist and is second among team leaders in that category (seven).
Moments later, Strome tied the game as a reward for his remarkable patience, as the veteran forward stayed in position and trusted the puck would find him. Terry carried the puck through the middle of the ice, leaning on defenseman Marc Staal and looking to gain inside positioning to cut to the net. Terry eventually turned and directed the puck towards the low slot, where Shattenkirk kept it alive and shoveled it to Strome stationed on the backdoor. Strome wasted no time when the puck finally arrived, slamming it home before Knight could slide his across his crease to even the score at two.

Strome has scored in three of his last four games (3-1=4) and ranks third among team leaders in points (10).
Terry pushed his own scoring and assists streaks to five games (1-7=8) with the helper. The 25-year-old winger leads Anaheim in points (5-12=17) and assists.
The 2-2 deadlock would hold until the initial minutes of the third, when a relentless effort down low by Reinhart gave the visitors the lead once again. Following a faceoff to Gibson's left, Staal feathered a shot through traffic, but his bid was knocked down and never made it to the net. Reinhart won the battle for it through a swarm of bodies though, pulling the puck free and chipping it past Gibson from the side of the cage.
The goal marked Reinhart's first of the new campaign, snapping a 12-game drought after he scored a career-best 33 goals last season.
Bennett added a critical insurance tally minutes later, tapping home a centering pass from Eetu Luostarinen in the left wing corner.
Anaheim would get a golden chance to get back within one with 74 seconds to play in regulation when Lundestrom was awarded a penalty shot, and the Swedish center came through in the clutch, beating Knight with a backhand move over the left leg pad.

That would be as close as the Ducks would come though, as Reinhart hit the empty net as time expired, clinching a 5-3 Florida victory.
The Ducks continue their four-game homestand Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild.