Coyotes fall into wild-card tie with loss to Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Arizona Coyotes failed to increase their lead in the Western Conference wild-card race, losing 4-2 to the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center on Thursday.

Arizona is tied with the Colorado Avalanche, one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild, for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Colorado defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Thursday.
"We were sloppy," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "I think we were trying, but we were just sloppy. I don't know, it's upsetting because a couple of guys were just not ready and they were sloppy. I know pressure is hitting this team, but you have to be prepared."
WATCH: [All Coyotes vs. Panthers highlights]
Michael Grabner scored a shorthanded goal for the Coyotes (36-32-6), who have lost three in a row after going 10-2-0 in their previous 12 games. Darcy Kuemper, making his 15th consecutive start, made 18 saves.
Aleksander Barkov scored twice for the Panthers (33-29-12), who are seven points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Keith Yandle set a Florida single-season record for a defenseman with his 58th point and for all skaters with his 38th power-play point.
"It's been great," Yandle said. "The way that those guys can shoot the puck, score goals, I think I have the easiest job out there. It's just kind of distributing it to those guys and letting them do their magic. It's definitely a lot of fun to be a part of that group and going to work every night."
Florida goalie Roberto Luongo, playing his first game since March 7 after rookie Samuel Montembeault started six games, made 32 saves and was particularly sharp early in the third period when the Panthers were holding a 2-1 lead.

"I felt I had good energy," Luongo said. "Got a lot of shots early and was able to get in the game. Got a good feel. It carried me the rest of the way. The boys did a good job; even though they had a lot of shots, they didn't have many scoring chances."
Grabner gave Arizona a 1-0 lead at 7:45 of the first period with his NHL-leading sixth shorthanded goal. The Coyotes set an Arizona/Winnipeg Jets record with its 16th shorthanded goal of the season.
Barkov made it 1-1 at 19:45 with a wrist shot from the slot. It was the eighth consecutive Florida goal over a four-game span on which Barkov had a point.
"We did have a lead, but then we kind of messed up there," Coyotes forward Brad Richardson said. "We got caught watching a little bit, and you get a guy like Barkov, he's going to make a play and he did."
Mike Hoffman made it 2-1 at 10:55 of the second period with a power-play goal when he one-timed a Jonathan Huberdeau pass in the right circle after Arizona was called for too many men on the ice. Yandle had the secondary assist to give him 49 this season. MacKenzie Weegar made it 3-1 at 5:09 of the third period.
Richardson scored at 17:34 to make it 3-2 before Barkov scored an empty-net goal at 19:10 for the 4-2 final.

"I know pressure is there, but we're going to have to handle pressure," Tocchet said. "There's going to be higher-pressure games than this. Too many men. Not focused. Backdoor play. Our power play has got to get us a goal. We made a valiant effort. At the end we had a couple of chances to do it and we overplayed certain situations."

They said it

"We've done a lot of good things to get in this position; now you've got to knock the door down. We're knocking on it, but now the hard part starts. It's easy to finish in second place; it's hard to win. We've got to make sure we've got to be prepared to play." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet
"We have pride in this locker room. Obviously we're disappointed where we are in the standings, but it's a privilege to play in the NHL and you've got to give your all every night. You're always fighting for something, whether it's standings, jobs. There's always a reason to play." -- Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo

Need to know

Huberdeau had three assists to give him 82 points (23 goals, 59 assists), joining Barkov (87; 34, 53) to give Florida two 80-point scorers for the first time. ... Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers played his 600th NHL game. ... Grabner is one shorthanded goal short of the Arizona/Winnipeg record set by Dave McLlwain in 1989-90. ... Hoffman has 17 power-play goals, two shy of the Panthers record shared by Scott Mellanby (1995-96) and Pavel Bure (2000-01).

What's next

Coyotes: At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; MSG, FS-A, NHL.TV)
Panthers: Host the Boston Bruins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, NESN, NHL.TV)