Matthew Tkachuk scored twice to help the Florida Panthers defeat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Saturday.
Aleksander Barkov scored the other goal for the Panthers, who have now won two straight. Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t busy and made 28 saves.
Mackenzie Blackwood did his best to play hero for the Sharks, who lost two straight after winning three in a row. Blackwood was the only reason the Sharks were in the game, and he made 49 saves. Tyler Toffoli scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season late in the third period.
The Sharks continued to have puck play issues on the breakout, and the Panthers pounced on defensive zone turnovers all night. Florida showed a young San Jose team the aggressive, in-your-face style they used to win the 2024 Stanly Cup.
The Sharks had chances to score, especially on the powerplay, but they didn’t convert enough and went 1 for 7. Overall, the Sharks played much better than their 8-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Tkachuk scored 23 seconds into the game with a terrific play by batting the puck out of the air and past Blackwood.
Tkachuk scored his second of the game and 10th of the season after the Sharks failed to clear the zone. The winger moved to his backhand to beat the goalie.
Barkov extended the lead to 3-0 after a terrific passing sequence on the powerplay.
Toffoli gets the Sharks on the board late with a tip-in goal on the powerplay.
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