Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr picked up two assists in Thursday night’s 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins at BB&T Center.
Those two helpers gave Jagr 1,800 points (721 goals; 1,079 assists) for his extraordinary career and moved him ahead of Ron Francis and into sole possession of fourth place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list.
1. Wayne Gretzky — 2,857
2. Mark Messier — 1,887
3. Gordie Howe — 1,850
4. Jaromir Jagr — 1,800
5. Ron Francis — 1,798
Even though the Panthers are eliminated from the playoff race, Jagr has been one of the best trade deadline acquisitions of the season. He’s tallied 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 19 games for Florida, with 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 76 games overall. Even at 43 years old, Jagr is still a legitimate top-six forward and a threat on the power play.
The Panthers should give strong consideration to re-signing him in the summer to help with the team’s development into a contender.
— Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo made 34 saves on 36 shots for his second win against the Bruins this season. B’s goaltender Tuukka Rask made 26 saves and gave up four goals for the first time in eight games.
— Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron scored his 23rd goal of the season during a second-period power play. He also won 56 percent of his faceoffs and led all B’s forwards with 20:01 of ice time. Bergeron has scored two of Boston’s three goals over the last three games, including its only shootout tally Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
— Brad Marchand ended a 15-game goalless drought with a third-period tally that trimmed Boston’s deficit to 3-2. It was his 23rd goal of the season, which ties him with Bergeron for the team lead.
— Max Talbot led Bruins forwards with three shots on goal. Boston’s top-nine forwards combined for just 13 SOG.
— Bruins winger Brett Connolly took three penalties, including a double-minor for roughing and boarding Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson in the first period. His high-sticking penalty in the second period led to a Florida power-play goal scored by Aleksander Barkov. Connolly has 10 PIM in the last two games and tallied 38 PIM in 50 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning prior to being acquired by the Bruins on March 2.
It’s great to see Connolly give the Bruins a much-needed physical edge in all three zones, but it has to be done in a disciplined fashion. Boston cannot afford to give opponents too many power-play chances when its own offense is struggling to score.
— Boston has attempted 202 shots in its last three games and just three of them have found the back of the net. The Bruins had a 62-58 advantage in shot attempts Thursday, but the Panthers led 49-43 at even strength.
— Dorchester native and Panthers forward Jimmy Hayes scored Florida’s fourth goal of the game. He has a career-high 19 goals this season, two of which have come against the Bruins.
READ: Updated Look At NHL Playoff Race>>
Thumbnail photo via Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports Images
