RECAP: Jets 2, Panthers 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – These ones sting.

Letting crucial points slip away in the third period for the second straight game, the Florida Panthers suffered a tough 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

Their third straight loss after a three-game winning streak, the Panthers now sit at 28-23-3.

“It’s frustrating, but we have to look ahead,” forward Eetu Luostarinen said.

Near the end of the first period, the Panthers opened the scoring when Luostarinen tipped a shot from Evan Rodrigues past Jets goaltender Eric Comrie to make it 1-0 at 14:40.

A strong start, the Panthers led 14-6 in scoring chances after 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, they only had the one goal to show for it.

“We had the lead, right? That’s what you want,” Rodrigues said of the first period. “Their goalie made some saves, but throughout [the game] we didn’t play bad, per se. They capitalized on a couple chances they got, and they did that more than we did.”

In the second period, Sergei Bobrovsky made several big saves to keep the Panthers on top.

His biggest stop of the period came just past the midway point of the frame when he lunged to his left and gloved a backhand shot from Winnipeg sniper Kyle Connor to keep it 1-0.

That was one of five high-danger saves for Bobrovsky, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

Finding the equalizer for the Jets in the third period, Cole Perfetti followed up on a shot from Adam Lowry and sent the rebound past Bobrovsky from in tight to make it 1-1 at 8:34.

Generating some offense off the rush, the Jets took the lead later in the period when Mark Schiefele took a cross-ice pass from Gabriel Vilardi and scored to make it 2-1 at 15:46.

In the third period, the Panthers surrendered only five shots on goal.

“We gave up five shots,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “I don’t expect Sergei to have that second one. We just got caught flat footed on a line change that’s as much my fault as anybody else’s. When you play in these tight, tight games, it’s going to be one shot.”

THEY SAID IT

"It'll be big. We'll tape a few guys together and see what we can put together." – Paul Maurice on the final three games before the break

“They just capitalized on a couple plays that they made. I don’t think necessarily they were seriously bad plays or anything like that. They just capitalized on the couple chances they got.” – Evan Rodrigues on Winnipeg’s two goals

“I think we were fine, and then just a couple sloppy plays or mistakes and they scored on us. That’s a frustrating way to go down.” – Eetu Luostarinen on tonight’s loss

CATS STATS

- The Panthers and Jets split their two-game season series.

- Sam Bennett won a team-high nine faceoffs.

- Niko Mikkola racked up a team-high nine hits.

- The Panthers led 55-34 in shot attempts.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The final push before the break starts now.

In the first of three division games they’ll play before the Olympics, the Panthers will host the Buffalo Sabres at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.