Panthers 2, Coyotes 1
Scottie Upshall scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period as Florida recorded its first home win of the season by avenging last weekend's loss at Arizona.
Brandon Pirri tallied in his third consecutive contest for the Panthers, who improved to 3-0-2 in their last five despite suffering a 2-1 overtime setback to the Coyotes on Saturday. Tomas Kopecky notched an assist on Upshall's goal for his first point of the season and Roberto Luongo finished with 32 saves.
Martin Hanzal scored a power-play goal for Arizona, which fell to 6-1-1 in its last eight meetings with Florida. Defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Keith Yandle each recorded an assist and Mike Smith turned aside 24 shots in a losing effort.
With the contest tied at 1-1, Derek MacKenzie blocked a pair of shots before Kopecky fed Upshall as the latter exited the penalty box following a charging infraction. Upshall skated in on a breakaway and made a series of moves before backhanding the puck past Smith at 10:56 of the third period for his first goal of the season.
After scoring the overtime winner in the teams' last meeting, Ekman-Larsson set up the contest's first goal as his shot from the right faceoff circle caromed off the stick of Hanzal and past Luongo with 2:33 remaining in the first period. Pirri continued his hot streak by converting a one-timer while on the man advantage 5:37 into the second to forge a tie.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Arizona had won four straight road games against Florida prior to this loss. ... Ekman-Larsson has collected two goals and three assists in four meetings with the Panthers. ... Florida, which yielded a power-play goal on four chances, has allowed five tallies in its last 17 short-handed situations over the last three games.