![](anthers17-12-5ML: +104FLA -1.5, O/U 5.5ML: -122 CBS Sports Home Fantasy NFL NCAA FB NBA NCAA BB MLB NHL Golf MMA WWE Boxing Soccer NASCAR XFL WNBA Big3 Horse Racing Tennis High School WSOP Olympics Women's WC Shop PBR Rugby PRCA Stubhub Play Golf <main id="page-content" class="highlander-page-container game-tracker">RECGAMETRACKERBOX SCOREPLAY-BY-PLAYRECLIVEBOX SCOREPLAY-BY-PLAYTWEETSAcciari has second straight hat trick, Panthers beat StarsSUNRISE, Fla. Noel Acciari completed his second straight hat trick with a penalty shot and added an assist in Florida’s five-goal second period in the Panthers’ 7-4 victory over the Dallas Stars on Friday night.Acciari had the natural hat trick in a Florida-record 3:59 span, pushing his season goals total to a career-high 11.The 28-year-old former Providence player began the run at 7:26 of the second, struck again at 7:58, and slipped his first career penalty shot through goalie Anton Khudobin’s pads with 8:35 left in the period to make it 7-1. Acciari got the short-handed penalty shot after he was hooked by John Klingberg on a breakaway.Acciari had his first career three-goal game Tuesday night in a 6-1 victory over Ottawa, with the Panthers also scoring five goals in the second period of that game.Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and three assists for a second consecutive four-point outing, and Vincent Trocheck added a goal and two helpers. Anton Stralman and Colton Sceviour also scored, Aleksander Barkov had two assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves.The Panthers were 5-4-0 on their franchise-record, nine-game homestand.Tyler Seguin scored twice for Dallas, Denis Gurianov and Jamie Benn also scored, and Corey Perry had two assists. Ben Bishop allowed six goals on in 20 shots in 27:58, and Khudobin stopped 12 shots in relief.NOTES: Dallas forward Joe Pavelski played his 1,000th career game. ... Florida’s Pavel Bure was the last Panther to have back-to-back hat tricks, accomplishing the feat in February 2001. ... Dallas is 5-2-1 in its last eight.UP NEXTStars: Host Calgary on Sunday night.Panthers: At Carolina on Saturday night.)
The Dallas Stars, now playing with an interim coach, will visit the Florida Panthers on Friday night at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.Rick Bowness, who took over when Jim Montgomery was fired on Dec. 10, is 3-1-1 during this brief stint.Stars general manager Jim Nill cited Montgomery's "unprofessional conduct," although no details were released.Either way, it's Bowness' first chance to run an NHL team since the end of the 2003-2004 season, when he was made interim coach of the Coyotes (then known as Phoenix)."As excited as I am to be in charge again, this is not how I wanted it," Bowness said upon assuming control of the Stars. "I came here to win the Stanley Cup with 'Monty.' "That particular Stanley Cup dream is no longer going to happen -- at least not with Montgomery -- but the Stars have been playing solid hockey of late. Since Dec. 1, Dallas is 5-2-2. They are also 8-7-2 on the road this season, including a 4-3 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.Meanwhile, the Panthers are 10-7-2 at home, including a 6-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday.The Panthers have been off since then, preparing for Friday's meeting with Dallas that will end Florida's nine-game homestand. So far, the Panthers are just 4-4-0 on this stretch of home games.But in the win over Ottawa, winger Jonathan Huberdeau had a career-best four assists, and Noel Acciari's hat trick was his first multi-goal performance in the NHL."(Huberdeau) is special with the puck," Acciari said. "He can find guys, (even) backdoor, probably one of the best (passers) in the league." Those four assists gave Huberdeau 400 career points, making him just the second player in Panthers history to reach that milestone. He is 20 points shy of passing Olli Jokinen for the franchise record.In addition, he finished that game ranking sixth in the NHL this season in assists (30) and 10th in points (41).Ironically, Huberdeau's outburst came immediately following a three-game losing streak for the Panthers, who had scored a combined total of just four goals during that span.Panthers coach Joel Quenneville -- who won three Stanley Cup titles with the Chicago Blackhawks -- responded by shifting lines. Huberdeau was moved down to the second unit along with center Vincent Trocheck and Acciari."It hadn't been working for those few games, so, change it around," Huberdeau said.Besides Huberdeau, Florida's offense also features center Aleksander Barkov (37 points) and winger Brett Connolly (team-high 14 goals). Defenseman Keith Yandle has 29 points, including a team-high 15 on the power play.Defensively, the Panthers got off to a poor start this season. However, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has turned things around in December, posting a 1.69 goals-against average and a 9.53 save percentage.For Dallas, center Tyler Seguin tops the team in assists (20) and points (28). He had the game-winning overtime goal against the Lightning on Thursday.Roope Hintz, a 23-year-old from Finland in his second year in the NHL, leads the Stars in goals with 12. He had only nine goals in 58 games as a rookie last season.The Stars, who took the eventual Stanley Cup-champion St. Louis Blues to overtime in Game 7 of the second round of last season's playoffs, have two solid goalies in Ben Bishop (12-7-3) and Anton Khudobin (8-5-1), who got the win on Thursday with 45 saves.Khudobin made 30 saves and blanked the Panthers the last time he faced them, which was on Feb. 12, 2019, in Sunrise.--Field Level Media
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