Marchment has two goals, assist for Panthers in win against Jets
Winnipeg loses fifth straight in first home game since Dec. 19
By
Darrin Bauming
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
"It's good to see him get a couple goals tonight and make some plays and gain some confidence because we're going to need him going forward here," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "Tonight it was his best game by far. He's a unique player for us and he brings a dimension unlike a lot of players like him."
Anton Lundell had a goal and an assist, Aaron Ekblad and Sam Reinhart each had two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for the Panthers (29-9-5), who have won seven of nine.
"I really felt our compete level was higher than it was the other night [5-3 loss at the Seattle Kraken on Sunday]," Brunette said. "I thought we had a really good checking mentality [down] the stretch in the third period and did the things we had to do to win a hockey game. At times it wasn't really pretty, but I thought we managed the puck real well and gave us a chance to play in their zone. When we have the puck in their zone we're a fun team to watch and a fun team to play for."
Paul Stastny, Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves for the Jets (17-15-7), who lost a fifth straight game (0-3-2).
"To win in this league -- and we talk about it every night -- it's a hard league to win," Jets coach Dave Lowry said. "You have to be committed to playing without the puck, you have to be committed to playing a certain way. And if you get away from it, usually you're not on the right end of it."
It was Winnipeg's first home game since Dec. 19 because of COVID-19 postponements.
"Frustrated. Just inconsistent play," Stastny said. "There's parts that are good, parts that are bad, and then it just seems like we shoot ourselves in the foot and get away from the game a little bit. It's almost that we're just trying to play for offense too much, and then leave our D-men on an island or our goaltender on an island. Obviously, you allow five goals, you might win once or twice this year, but you shouldn't expect that. You score three goals, you should find a way to win."
Carter Verhaeghe gave the Panthers a 4-3 lead at 9:42 of the second period.
"They got a couple good looks early but we made some adjustments," Verhaeghe said. "In our D-zone, we wanted to dial it in a little bit and I think we did that in the second and third [periods]. Our 'D' had great gaps, our forwards are coming back, and it definitely showed."
Sam Bennett scored at 12:10 of the third period for the 5-3 final.
"In the third period, even if we're down, we try to battle back and make a push for the win," Marchment said. "Just holding onto the lead is a huge thing in the playoffs, so just doing that all year is going to be big for us down the stretch."
Marchment gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 2:09 of the first period but Stastny tied it 1-1 at 8:19.
Marchment made it 2-1 at 12:06 before Connor tied it 2-2 at 12:57.
"You've got to come in hot, and we did, so it was a good start for the boys," Marchment said.
"[Marchment] is an important piece to our team," Verhaeghe said. "It's so nice to see him bury a couple goals, especially in one period, I mean, right away. You could see it coming, and it's nice. He was battling from the start."
Lundell gave the Panthers their third lead of the first period, scoring at 17:33 to make it 3-2.
"Sometimes I think you look at the team you're playing," Stastny said. "When you play teams out east, they play more of a run-and-gun style, so maybe you get excited about doing that. That's why they're one of the top teams in the league. If we want to play their way, we're not going to win. If we want to trade chances, that's what makes them so good. Sometimes you've got to stick to your game plan, what makes us work, what makes us successful. If we just want to play offense, if we just want to go, go, go, there's going to be a lot of frustration, misery."
Dubois tied it 3-3 with a power-play goal at 3:30 of the second period.
NOTES: Marchment had his first multigoal game in the NHL. He became the 11th Panthers player to score at least three points in a game this season, the second-most of any NHL team. … Ekblad has four assists in his past two games. … Bennett has scored nine points (seven goals, two assists) in the past six games and has scored nine goals in the past eight games. … Panthers defenseman Chase Priskie was plus-4 in 9:33 in his first game since Dec. 16. … Florida went 0-for-4 on the power play after going 5-for-10 (50.0 percent) in the past three games. … Connor has scored 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past nine games. … The Jets placed defenseman Josh Morrissey into COVID-19 protocol prior to the game. … Jets defenseman Ville Heinola was minus-2 in 10:40 in his season debut. … Winnipeg forward Cole Perfetti had two assists for his first NHL multipoint game.
