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Panthers claw back to sink Sharks

Feb 14, 2011 - 3:25 AM Sunrise, FL (Sports Network) - Chris Higgins and Jason Garrison both scored in the third period to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at BankAtlantic Center.

Mike Santorelli also lit the lamp for the Panthers, who snapped a five-game winless streak at home. Marty Reasoner collected two assists and Tomas Vokoun made 28 saves.

Joe Pavelski and Kent Huskins tallied for San Jose, which has dropped its last two games after winning five in a row. Antti Niemi stopped 19 shots in defeat.

"We got lackadaisical [in the third period]...A couple of stupid errors cost us the game," Sharks forward Joe Thornton said.

Pavelski put the Sharks up 2-1 at 2:02 of the third period. Dany Heatley dished from behind the net to the slot for Torrey Mitchell, who was denied by Vokoun. Pavelski followed up the play and buried the rebound.

Higgins slid a backhander under the right pad of Niemi to tie the score at 10:36. The Panthers moved ahead when Garrison let go a slap shot from the left point that eluded Niemi on the short side with 2:01 remaining.

"It seems like we've been on the losing end of a lot [of one-goal games], so it feels good," Higgins said of the win.

Huskins' bid from the left point beat Vokoun and gave San Jose a 1-0 lead at the 12:57 mark of the first period.

The Panthers pulled even late in the middle stanza. Cory Stillman dropped the puck to Santorelli and he fired a shot from the right circle that was repelled by Niemi. Santorelli gathered his own rebound behind the goal line and banked the puck off the San Jose netminder with 28.9 seconds remaining.

Game Notes

Florida's last eight games and 15 of its last 16 have all been decided by one goal...The Sharks have lost three straight to the Panthers.