Luongo bounces back, stops 41 as Panthers even series

SUNRISE, Fla. - Roberto Luongo made 41 saves for his first playoff win in five years, and the Florida Panthers evened their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series by beating the New York Islanders 3-1 on Friday night.

Reilly Smith and Nick Bjugstad each had a goal and an assist for Florida, which salvaged a split in the series-opening back-to-back. Dmitry Kulikov added an empty-netter with 9.3 seconds left to clinch the win.

John Tavares scored a goal for his sixth consecutive game going back to the regular season, denying Luongo the shutout with 3:33 left. Thomas Greiss stopped 28 shots for the Islanders.

The series now shifts to Brooklyn, for Game 3 on Sunday and Game 4 on Wednesday.

It was Luongo's first playoff win since Game 5 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals. He had lost his last seven postseason starts - giving up at least three goals in every one - and had been part of eight consecutive playoff losses in all, counting a relief stint in 2013. And all that came after he was victimized by Florida defensive breakdowns in Game 1 on Thursday night, which played a big role in him giving up five goals on 26 New York shots.

What a difference a day made.

And after 456 appearances for Florida, Luongo finally has a postseason win for the team. Some of his saves were spectacular, like when he denied the Islanders' Ryan Strome from point-blank range in the slot midway through the second period, and another when he managed to deflect a shot off the stick of Cal Clutterbuck - who was getting hauled down by Florida's Alex Petrovic early in the third.

Petrovic was sent to the box and Luongo stopped three more shots on the ensuing power play, including a pair from Tavares - who had a three-point night in Game 1.

Luongo got all the scoring help he needed early.

Smith scored at 4:32 of the first, getting his third goal of the series, and Bjugstad's first career playoff goal came early in the second period when he one-timed a pass from Smith past Greiss for a 2-0 lead.

The Panthers wasted three one-goal leads in Game 1. Nothing slipped away in Game 2.