Blues 5, Panthers 3
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Left winger Jaden Schwartz returned from a 49-game injury absence and scored the go-ahead goal to lead the St. Louis Blues past the first-place Florida Panthers 5-3 on Friday night at the BB&T Center.
The Panthers (32-17-6), who lead the Atlantic Division, lifted All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo after the first period. Luongo allowed three goals before he was replaced by Al Montoya.
Schwartz, a 53-goal scorer the past two years, suffered a fractured left ankle on Oct. 23. He looked fine, however, on his first goal of the season as he put in an easy rebound off a shot by defenseman Colton Parayko.
Goalie Brian Elliott, who made his 13th straight start, got the win for St. Louis (31-17-9), which is in third place in the Central Division.
St. Louis also got goals from center David Backes, his 13th of the season, center Robby Fabbri, his 12th, right winger Vladimir Tarasenko, his 27th, and left winger Alexander Steen, his 16th. Schwartz also had an assist on Tarasenko's goal, and Parayko had two assists.
Florida, which started a six-game homestand, got a goal from center Derek MacKenzie, his sixth of the season, defenseman Aaron Ekblad, his 11th, and left winger Jonathan Huberdeau, his 11th.
The Panthers trailed 4-1 but pulled as close as 4-3 on Huberdeau's goal with 9:13 left in the third period. Huberdeau was set up with a sweet finesse pass along the crease by defenseman Brian Campbell.
But Steen's goal crippled Florida's attempt at a rally.
Florida opened the scoring, getting MacKenzie's goal with 14:55 left in the first period. The goal was set up when Panthers left winger Garrett Wilson's hard hit behind the Blues net caused a turnover. The puck came out along the right boards to left winger Shawn Thornton, who fed MacKenzie in front for the score.
St. Louis tied the score with 7:44 left in the first period as Backes stole the puck, skated around Florida's defense on the left wing and scored unassisted.
After Schwartz gave St. Louis the lead, the Blues' power play clicked with 20 seconds left in the first period. The opportunity happened when Florida center Vincent Trocheck's clearing attempt when over the glass, an automatic penalty.
On the power play, center Paul Stastny tried to center the puck from behind the Panthers' net. The carom went to Fabbri, who scored from below the right circle.
Tarasenko's rebound goal with 12:00 left in the second period put the Blues up 4-1.
Ekblad scored on a slap shot with 9:16 left in the second period to cut Florida's deficit to 4-2. The play was set up by a Blues turnover, and Elliott couldn't find the puck through a screen.
NOTES: C Aleksander Barkov (concussion) missed his second straight game. Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said he doesn't view the injury as a "long-term thing." ... Panthers D Erik Gudbranson (shoulder) missed his fourth game in a row. ... Panthers D Willie Mitchell (lower body) hasn't played since Jan. 18. He turns 39 in April. ... Panthers C Dave Bolland (lower body) hasn't played since Dec. 12. ... Florida recalled LW John McFarland from Portland of the American Hockey League. LW Corban Knight was assigned to Portland. ... Blues G Jake Allen (knee) hasn't played since colliding with Anaheim Ducks RW Corey Perry on Jan. 8. St. Louis lost Allen's past four starts. He is 18-10-3 this season with a career-best 2.17 goals-against average. ... Blues F Steve Ott (hamstring) hasn't played since Dec. 5. ... Blues D Alex Pietrangelo (knee) hasn't played since Saturday.