Panthers 3, Jets 1
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Right winger Jaromir Jagr scored a pair of goals on a record-setting night to lead the Florida Panthers to a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
With Florida trailing 1-0 in the second period, Jagr tipped in a pass from defenseman Dimitri Kulikov in the low slot, beating Winnipeg goaltender Michael Hutchinson on the glove side, for his 19th goal of the season at 4:53.
Jagr added his 20th after right winger Reilly Smith had given Florida (34-18-7) a 2-1 lead on the power play at 3:58 of the third period, his 19th goal.
Jagr cleaned up a loose puck in front of the Winnipeg goal and slipped it in for a two-goal Florida lead at 15:37 for his milestone moment.
The tally gave Jagr 742 goals on his career, moving him past Brett Hull for third place in NHL history.
Left winger Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Winnipeg (25-29-4), which concluded its four-game road trip with a 1-2-1 record.
Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and center Mathieu Perreault posted assists for the Jets.
Kulikov and Jussi Jokinen had a pair of assists for Florida.
Hutchinson made 28 saves. Florida's Roberto Luongo had 30 stops.
Winnipeg, which entered the game 27th in power-play efficiency, scored first with the man-advantage at 14:35 when Byfuglien's shot from near the blue line deflected in off Ehlers in the slot for this 14th goal and a 1-0 lead.
Earlier in the period, Florida lost top line left winger Jonathan Huberdeau at 5:46 when he suffered a hard hit from Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba.
Huberdeau skated in through the left circle but opted to pass the puck out front. Trouba then drove the former Calder Trophy winner into the boards.
Huberdeau stayed down for a few minutes, left the ice and was ruled out for the game’s remainder with an upper-body injury.
Luongo, who had allowed at least three goals in all five of his starts since the All-Star break, was steadfast in the second period for Florida, stopping right winger Blake Wheeler and Perreault on breakaways with the score tied at 1-1.
Defenseman Michael Matheson and left winger Kyle Rau, top prospects in Florida's organization, made their NHL debuts after both were recalled from Portland of the AHL on Friday.
NOTES: With Winnipeg missing C Bryan Little (neck/day-to-day), C Mathieu Perreault worked the top line with LW Nikolaj Ehlers and RW Blake Wheeler. ... In addition to Little, the Jets scratched D Mark Stuart and D Adam Pardy. ... Florida scratched C Dave Bolland and LW Quinton Howden. Center Aleksander Barkov (out six games) and D Erik Gudbranson (out eight), both on IR, are expected back for the next game, at home on Thursday against Arizona. ... Florida LW Jussi Jokinen played in his 800th game. ... Coaches Paul Maurice of Winnipeg and Gerard Gallant of Florida held the distinction of being the only bench bosses ejected in the last week -- a rarity in the NHL. Maurice was tossed after arguing with officials about a pair of hard hits on his players in Tampa on Thursday; Gallant was sent off after a couple of Panthers were hurt against Nashville last Saturday.