Reinhart, Staal each scores twice, Panthers top Sharks for 3rd win in row

Sam Reinhart and Eric Staal each scored twice, and the Florida Panthers defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-1 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Thursday.

"I think the important thing is we know we need to go on a bit of a run here," Reinhart said. "We have to take advantage of home ice, especially with all the opportunities we have in front of us. Nights when you're not feeling your best, you have to find ways to win. Tonight, we did a good job of that."
Eetu Luostarinen had two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves in his 350th NHL victory for the Panthers (26-22-6), who have their first three-game winning streak of the season and are 7-2-2 in their past 11 games.
"It's definitely great," Bobrovsky said. "I've been fortunate to play with great teammates and great coaches. It's definitely a big achievement, but at the moment you focus on one moment at a time."
Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks (16-26-11), who had their four-game point streak end (2-0-2). Kaapo Kahkonen made 38 saves.
Barabanov gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at 5:49 of the first period with a backhand from the slot after Erik Karlsson's shot from the point was blocked.
Reinhart tied it 1-1 at 4:30 of the second period with a wrist shot from the right face-off dot.
"There was tension in the game, and we had some offensive zone time, but were not generating a whole lot,'' Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "They hemmed us in, and that settled the game a bit. We could relax a bit."

Reinhart gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 19:19 when he redirected Luostarinen's pass with his back to Kahkonen.
"It's pretty demoralizing to give up a goal at the end of a period," Sharks coach David Quinn said. "That's what happened way too often this year. Even the first goal was disappointing. We had such a great shift right before it, had plenty of chances to score and weren't able to do anything about it, and then kind of give up an easy one -- the story of our season in a lot of ways."
San Jose failed to convert on a four-minute power play late in the third period after defenseman Aaron Ekblad was called for a double minor for high-sticking.
"We had some good looks after the faceoff, couple good looks, a couple of rebounds," Sharks forward Tomas Hertl said. "We should probably get it in. [After] it just looked like we didn't get on the same page."
Staal extended it to 3-1 at 18:21 of the third on a short-handed, empty-net goal before scoring another 34 seconds later at 18:55 for the 4-1 final.
"This was a good game," Bobrovsky said. "They came out fast and we defended well. The PK in the end, they did a great job in front of me, clearing pucks out and then scoring two big goals."

Florida played without captain Aleksander Barkov, who suffered a hand injury blocking a shot during Monday's 7-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
NOTES: Karlsson's assist gave him 70 points on the season; he became the fastest NHL defenseman to reach 70 points in 33 years. He's the fourth defenseman to reach 70 points in 53 games or fewer, joining Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey and Denis Potvin. … Sharks forward Logan Couture left the ice in the second period after crashing into the boards behind the Panthers net but returned in the third period. … Florida defenseman Brandon Montour's 10-game point streak, a team record for defensemen, ended. … Staal became the fourth Panthers player to score two short-handed goals in the same game, joining Olli Jokinen, Radek Dvorak and Tom Fitzgerald. … Staal's goals in 34 seconds were the fastest two third-period goals in Florida history, topping Vincent Trocheck's two in 38 seconds on April 2, 2015.