SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers are not used to being stumped on offense, especially not when they’re playing in Sunrise, yet there they were, down by two goals early in the second period and struggling to find openings in the San Jose Sharks’ sturdy defense. A few minutes into the period, Andrew Brunette went with the Panthers’ frequent go-to emergency measure, and moved Jonathan Huberdeau up to the top line to play with Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe.
There was a comeback to be had and Florida wasn’t going to miss its chance.
The revamped line got the Panthers within one goal when Barkov scored in the first two minutes of the third period, then tied the game when Huberdeau found the back of the net with 10:22 remaining, ultimately forcing overtime. With 3:52 left in the extra session, forward Sam Bennett scored on a one-timer from Huberdeau and Florida won, 5-4.
