Panthers 2, Oilers 1
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Make it a dozen for the hottest team in the National Hockey League.
The Florida Panthers directed only 14 shots on goal, but got goals from Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau to pace them to a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
It was the Panthers 12th straight win -- marking the first time since the Boston Bruins did it during the 2013-14 season.
Just 3:22 into the first, the ageless Jagr scored on a breakaway. The 43-year-old actually lost control of the puck as he bore down on Oilers goalie Cam Talbot, but still managed to slide a shot between the netminder's pads. It was Jagr's 737th career goal, putting him just four behind Brett Hull for third all-time on the NHL all-time goals list.
The Oilers thought they had tied the game at 6:39, when Oilers left winger Taylor Hall's laser beam of a wrist shot went off the post and in. But Panthers coach Gerard Gallant challenged the play, and the video review showed that right winger Teddy Putcell was offside and the goal was waved off.
It was a massive momentum swing, as just seconds later the Panthers made it 2-0, with Huberdeau tapping in a pass from center Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers scored twice on their first three shots of the night.
Oilers center Mark Letestu halved the lead at 12:32 of the first, scoring from the slot after some good grunt work on the boards by forward Matt Hendricks.
The game was filled with fights and big hits -- as if the two teams were divisional rivals, not clubs that only meet twice a season.
Oilers center Matt Hendricks got into his second fight of the game in the third. He drove Panthers star defenseman Aaron Ekblad into the end boards, as the Oilers went tit-for-tat for the earlier hit on Hall. After the hit, Panthers right winger Logan Shaw took on Hendricks.
NOTES: RW Jaromir Jagr has 40 career points in 35 regular-season games against the Oilers. ... The Panthers opted to rest G Roberto Luongo so he could be fresh to start against his old team, the Vancouver Canucks, on Monday. ... D Steven Kampfer (lower body) is on injured reserve for the Panthers, while C David Bolland was out with a lower-body injury. ... The Panthers scratched LW Shawn Thornton. ... The Oilers have four players on injured reserve: D Oscar Klefbom (undisclosed), D Andrew Ference (undisclosed), C Connor McDavid (broken clavicle) and RW Nail Yakupov (ankle). ... The Oilers confirmed that neither Klefbom nor McDavid will return before the All-Star break. ... The Oilers scratched LW Luke Gazdic and D Brad Hunt.