Panthers rally past Ducks in OT despite 51 saves by Gibson

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Carter Verhaeghe scored on a breakaway at 1:42 of overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 4-3 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at FLA Live Arena on Monday.

Verhaeghe skated in and scored blocker side on Gibson after Matthew Tkachuk forced a turnover by Frank Vatrano at the blue line. It was his 30th goal of the season.
"It was pretty cool, pretty good accomplishment, but it was nice to win," Verhaeghe said. "All game it felt like we were in control and had a ton of chances. We just could not finish them. They got a couple one-off chances. It was nice to win."
Marc Staal, Eric Staal and Ryan Lomberg scored, and Tkachuk and Eetu Luostarinen each had two assists for the Panthers (29-25-6). Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves.
Dmitry Kulikov had a goal and an assist, and John Klingberg had two assists for the Ducks (17-33-7), who have lost five in a row (0-4-1). John Gibson made 51 saves.
"'Gibby' was real good, kept us in there when we needed him," Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. "They were throwing everything in the kitchen sink at that net. He did a real good job."

Mason McTavish gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead at 11:46 of the first period, scoring on his own rebound near the right post.
Vatrano made it 2-0 at 15:20 with a power-play goal. He scored into an open net from the left circle after Kevin Shattenkirk's shot from the point caromed to him off the end boards.
"We have to learn to play with the lead," Vatrano said. "We obviously were playing with the lead for the right reasons, and sometimes we get away from the game a little bit. But if we have a lead we've just got to keep playing the same way and not overcomplicate things."
Eric Staal cut it to 2-1 at 2:12 of the second period when he deflected Radko Gudas' shot.
"It was kids day, so you had to make sure you were ready to go," Staal said. "You want to show your kids you still got a little bit in the tank."

Marc Staal then tied it 2-2 at 17:23, tapping in a return pass from Tkachuk on a rush.
Kulikov put Anaheim back in front 3-2 at 12:51 of the third period when he scored glove side off a give-and-go with Klingberg.
"In this league now, being up two, three goals, it doesn't mean anything," Eakins said. "It's game on out there every minute of the game. I think the best way to protect leads now is to score again. That was a big effort by Florida. They're obviously very desperate and trying to solidify the playoff spot."
Lomberg responded to tie it 3-3 at 14:09 when he got the net and deflected a one-timer by Gustav Forsling.
"We were down one, but with seven minutes left figured we would have gotten at least four more chances to score," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "If there is any hockey karma going, we were going to get one of them to go. It was a pretty one-sided game, we just couldn't put it past their [goalie]."
NOTES: Florida forward Givani Smith left the game with 11:29 remaining in the second period after being hit in the face by a shot by Gudas. Maurice said X-rays were negative and Smith would not have to go into concussion protocol. … Klingberg has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past five games. ... Gibson's 51 saves came 10 days after he set a Ducks record with 53 saves in a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also became the third goaltender in NHL history to have multiple games with at least 50 saves in the same month, joining Al Rollins (two in October 1955) and Gump Worsley (three in January 1963). … Eric and Marc Staal became the sixth pair of brothers to score a goal in the same game for the same team in the past 10 years, joining Daniel and Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks, 12 times), Eric and Jordan Staal (Carolina Hurricanes, 10 times), Jamie and Jordie Benn (Dallas Stars, two times), Brayden and Luke Schenn (Philadelphia Flyers, one time), and Seth and Caleb Jones (Chicago Blackhawks, one time).