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Panthers lose a ‘tough one’ in Winnipeg, as frustrations pile up under Rowe

Panthers Jets Hockey

Winnipeg Jets’ Mathieu Perreault (85) scores the winning goal against Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo (1) during the shootout in an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

AP

The frustrations keep piling up for the Florida Panthers, who still have just two wins under interim coach Tom Rowe.

The Panthers lost, 4-3, in the shootout last night in Winnipeg, despite outshooting the Jets, 44-32, through regulation and overtime.

“I think we controlled the pace of the game from the start of the game,” said forward Reilly Smith, per the Miami Herald. “It’s just frustrating. The opportunities are there, we had 44 shots. ... With that many opportunities, you need to find a way to win.”

The Panthers are now 2-3-4 under Rowe, who took over from Gerard Gallant after a Nov. 27 loss in Carolina. In those nine games, they’ve outshot their opposition by a combined margin of 312 to 259. Roberto Luongo started eight of those games, going 2-3-3 with a .904 save percentage.

If Luongo had only been able to stop Bryan Little on the Jets’ third shootout attempt, the Panthers would’ve come away with the victory. But Little made a nice move to the backhand and scored, and Mathieu Perreault eventually won it in the sixth round.

“It was a tough one but we did a lot of good things,” Rowe said. “We outshot them dramatically in the first and second period. We had great chances and just couldn’t finish.”

The Panthers are right back at it tonight in Denver, against an Avalanche side that’s lost six straight at home. With the point against the Jets, Florida moved to four points back of third-place Boston in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins lost at home to Anaheim on Thursday.

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