Sunrise, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Jaromir Jagr continued his climb up the NHL's all-time points list and Roberto Luongo reached an impressive milestone as the Florida Panthers routed the Carolina Hurricanes 6-1 on Thursday night.
Jagr had a goal and one assist to raise his career point total to 1,798, tying Ron Francis for fourth place, while Luongo made 31 saves to become only the 11th goalie in league history to earn 400 career wins.
Despite the lopsided win and personal achievements, the Panthers remain longshots to reach the playoffs. They are six points behind the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference's second wild card spot with four games remaining.
"This is a very talented team. If we play the right way we can beat anybody," Jagr said. "It's not over yet."
Vincent Trocheck scored twice 38 seconds apart in the third period for Florida, which began a season-ending five-game homestand.
Anton Khudobin gave up six goals on 35 shots for the Hurricanes, who got a goal from Chris Terry with 1:19 remaining in the game to avoid being shut out by the Panthers in all three meetings this season.
"We haven't generated enough quality chances," said Hurricanes coach Bill Peters. "Tough season series with these guys."
The Panthers grabbed a 1-0 lead with 50 seconds remaining in the first period. Following a faceoff win by Trocheck, Jimmy Hayes set up Willie Mitchell for a successful one-timer from above the left circle.
Florida seized control by racking up three goals in the second period.
About a minute after the Panthers killed an interference penalty assessed to Tomas Kopecky, Brandon Pirri spun and fired a shot from the bottom of the right circle through the legs of Khudobin for his ninth goal in his last 11 games.
Jagr converted Aleksander Barkov's behind-the-net pass to give Florida a 3-0 lead with 6:59 remaining in the second. With the goal, Jagr matched Francis, a former teammate on the Pittsburgh Penguins teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in the early 1990s.
Barkov roofed a backhander to make it 4-0 with 3:33 left.
Game Notes
Florida defenseman Brian Campbell played in his 300th consecutive regular- season game ... Hayes and Jonathan Huberdeau each had two assists.
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