Panthers recover to defeat Penguins in shootout

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Spencer Knight made 29 saves, helping the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday.

“Every team in this league has offensive talent, but those guys have some of the best players in the world,” Knight said. “Obviously it was a pressure situation, but it was one we need to be comfortable [in]. For me, if I am in games down the line, those are situations you might be in.”

Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk scored for the Panthers (24-14-2), who had lost three of four games, including a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday with Sergei Bobrovsky in net.

Knight stopped both shots he faced in the shootout, when Florida’s Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell scored the only goals.

“He made a couple really big saves down at the end,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Knight. “That’s so important for him and for our team on back-to-back nights. You need that. [Pittsburgh] has five or six guys who can shoot it as well as anyone in the past 20 years. He was great tonight. Really happy for him.”

Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell each scored a power-play goal, and Tristan Jarry made 31 saves for the Penguins (17-17-6).

Pittsburgh has lost four of its past six games overall and four straight on the road.

“I thought we played extremely hard. It was another really good hockey game,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We had a lot of good opportunities to score, I loved our compete level down the stretch. We got one with the goalie pulled on the power play at the end. I just love the compete of this group right now, I love the intentions. We’re trying to play the game the right way.”

With the Panthers leading 2-1, Florida center Sam Bennett was called for roughing at 17:59 of the third period, and Pittsburgh pulled Jarry in the final minute to make it 6-on-4.

Rakell then tied it 2-2 with 40 seconds left, scoring on a one-timer from below the right hash marks off a pass from Michael Bunting.

“I thought the guys did a great job,” Jarry said. “We were able to get a power play at the end, and that really helped. The guys executed and did what we talked about. Learning from the last game (a 4-2 loss at the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday) really helped us. I thought we brought a really good game tonight.”

Forsling put Florida ahead 1-0 at 36 seconds of the second period, taking a pass from Reinhart on the rush and sending a wrist shot from above the right circle over Jarry’s blocker.

The Penguins tied it 1-1 at 11:09, five seconds into a double minor on Panthers forward A.J. Greer for high-sticking.

After Pittsburgh won the face-off, Bryan Rust sent a no-look pass from the boards to Crosby in the slot, where the Penguins center scored with a one-timer high to the blocker side.

“They had some momentum, we had some momentum,” Sullivan said. “It was a real good NHL hockey game. That’s a good team we played.”

Tkachuk was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a 10-minute misconduct at 14:38 of the second period. After returning, he put the Panthers back in front 2-1 at 8:48 of third by deflecting Carter Verhaeghe’s shot in front.

“I guess I had to go to the box and sit for a while,” Tkachuk said. “When I came out, tried to make an impact in the last half of the third period. I would have liked to have been out there, and that part was unfortunate. I thought the guys did a great job in a tight game in a back-to-back. We would have liked to close it out in the third, but it took us a few extra minutes.”

NOTES: Penguins forward Philip Tomasino left the game at 4:56 of the third period with an apparent lower-body injury after sliding into the end boards. There was no update. … Crosby scored his 30th goal against the Panthers, making Florida the sixth franchise he has hit the mark against. He is the second active player to score 30 or more goals against that many franchises, behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (13). … Crosby’s 12 power-play goals against the Panthers are tied for his third-most against a single franchise (New York Islanders). He has 18 against the Philadelphia Flyers and 14 against the Capitals. … Rakell has scored Pittsburgh’s two tying goals in the final minute of regulation this season. He scored with 46 seconds left in a 6-5 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 16. … Penguins defenseman Owen Pickering had one shot on goal and played 13:44 in his return after missing four games because of a concussion.