Panthers score last three goals to rally past Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Coach Bob Boughner challenged the Florida Panthers to finish their five-game road trip with a win after they lost three in a row. Goaltender James Reimer helped them achieve that objective.
Reimer made 39 saves, and the Panthers rallied from down two goals for a 3-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Tuesday.

Nick Bjugstad, Denis Malgin and Mike Matheson scored for the Panthers (13-16-5), who went 2-2-1 on their trip.
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Coyotes highlights]
"It's been a long trip," Boughner said. "It's been 10 days, and I know the guys are anxious to get home. We found a way to become .500. We could have been a lot better, but tonight we found a way to compete for the last 20 minutes."
Matheson gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead at 5:41 of the third period when he scored the third straight goal for Florida. He got behind Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers before deking goalie Antti Raanta and beating him between the pads.
"Unbelievable goal," Bjugstad said. "I can't believe he did that."
Matheson has three goals in the past five games after he went his first 28 of the season without scoring.
The Coyotes (7-24-5) lost their seventh straight game (0-6-1) and are 1-8-2 in their past 11. Christian Fischer and Derek Stepan scored for Arizona, which has nine goals during its losing streak.
"I'm kind of embarrassed for the fans because we had this game and we gave it to them," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "A couple of individuals, I don't understand what they're doing on those plays. It's probably as disappointed as I've been in this team all year."

Fischer gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 15:51 of the first period when he deflected Clayton Keller's shot from the top of the right face-off circle past Reimer.
Arizona outshot Florida 23-7 in the first. The 23 shots were the most for the Coyotes in a period this season.
Stepan made it 2-0 at 18:14 of the second period when he knocked in the rebound of Brendan Perlini's deflection at the left side of the net on his backhand. Stepan has 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 24 games against the Panthers, but it was a play late in the second that haunted him after the game.
Bjugstad cut the Coyotes lead to 2-1 with 9.7 seconds left in the period after Derek MacKenzie beat Stepan cleanly on a face-off at the left circle. Bjugstad's wrist shot through traffic beat Raanta low to the glove side.
"The face-off at the end of the second period is a big blunder," Stepan said. "I was not very good tonight and I cost ourselves a game."
Malgin took a pass from Evgenii Dadonov on the right wing and beat Raanta to the glove side at 3:37 of the third period to tie it 2-2.

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Goal of the game

Matheson's goal at 5:41 of the third period.

Save of the game

Reimer's glove save on Alex Goligoski at 5:13 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Malgin's goal at 3:37 of the third period.

They said it

"[James] Reimer made so many stops in the first period. That's what kept us in it."-- Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad on the goalie's 22 saves in the first
"We dominated the first and second period, and in the third, we come out and just lay an egg. We're on a losing streak, so we've got to find a way in this locker room to grind that out." -- Coyotes forward Christian Fischer

Need to know

Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in nine games after he had an assist on Malgin's goal. He has at least one point in eight of nine games. ... Keller has one goal and two assists during a three-game point streak. ... Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson had an assist on Fischer's goal, his first point in nine games. ... Fischer and Ekman-Larsson each had a game-high six shots on goal. ... Panthers forward Colton Sceviour, Coyotes forwards Zac Rinaldo and Tobias Rieder, and Arizona defenseman Luke Schenn each had a game-high five hits. The Coyotes outhit the Panthers 32-30. ... Forward Nick Merkley, selected by Arizona in the first round (No. 30) of the 2015 NHL Draft, did not have a point or shot on goal in 13:30 in his NHL debut.

What's next

Panthers: Host the Minnesota Wild on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, FS-N, NHL.TV)
Coyotes:Host the Washington Capitals on Friday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A, NBCSWA+, NHL.TV)