Florida stops Penguins, 5-2

Sidney Crosby, in his second game back for Pittsburgh, had an assist.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Craig Anderson wasn’t perfect. For a change, the Florida Panthers’ goalie didn’t have to be.

Anderson stopped 25 shots, David Booth had a goal and two assists and the Panthers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 Thursday night to stay within seven points of Carolina in the Southeast Division standings.

After carrying Florida to consecutive 1-0 victories and setting a slew of NHL records in the process, Anderson’s bid for a third consecutive shutout ended early. But afterward, all that mattered to him was that the Panthers opened a critical seven-game homestand with a victory.

“You want your best games at the end of the year when you’re getting that playoff push,” Anderson said. “You want to be playing your best hockey. Look at other teams that were playing good at the start of the year. They’re kind of fading off right now, but we want to continue to play strong.”

Stephen Weiss added a goal and an assist for the Panthers. Rostislav Olesz and Brett McLean also scored for Florida, which sealed it on Bryan Allen’s empty-netter with 51.8 seconds left.

Ryan Malone scored his 24th goal and Kristopher Letang got his fifth for Pittsburgh, which had beaten Florida in the teams’ last five meetings. Reigning Hart Trophy winner Sidney Crosby, in his second game back since suffering a high ankle sprain and missing six weeks of action, had an assist for the Penguins.

“We just didn’t come out the right way and we definitely paid for it,” Crosby said. “This time of year, you can’t afford to do that.”

Anderson stopped 93 shots in his previous two outings at the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins, making Florida the first NHL team to win consecutive 1-0 games on the road.

No other goalie in league history — since such stats began being kept in the 1955-56 season — had ever stopped more than 75 shots in consecutive shutouts.

By the time Anderson faced his first shot against the Penguins, he already had a 2-0 lead.

Booth opened the scoring at 4:19 of the first on a picture-perfect goal, a play where Nathan Horton carried the puck down the left wing boards and tapped it to Weiss, who found Booth for his 20th. Olesz got his 12th of the season 39 seconds later.

Those quick two goals matched Florida’s total in its previous 134 minutes, 20 seconds of play.

“Makes it a lot easier than being down a goal, especially against that team,” Weiss said.

From there, all eyes were on Anderson — whose streak would soon end. Malone tapped in a rebound at 6:19 of the first, snapping Anderson’s run of 106 consecutive saves.

“Once they scored, it was actually a big weight off my chest,” Anderson said. “There was a little bit of pressure there.”