Panthers 4, Golden Knights 3 (OT): 3 Takeaways

When James Neal tied tonight's game, 3-3, with 2:09 remaining in the third period, it had that feel.
That after trailing by one goal three times and chasing the Panthers for much of the evening, that the Golden Knights were again going to dramatically come from behind to win.
This good feeling didn't last.
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Aaron Ekblad won the game for the Florida Panthers by scoring on the first shift of overtime. Although despite losing 4-3, Vegas picked up its 64th point by taking this game to overtime. This leads the Pacific Division by 10 points, and is just one behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for tops in the NHL.
Here are three takeaways from tonight's game.

1. Chasing It
It's hard to be too disappointed in the Golden Knights tonight. They outshot the Panthers 36-26 and had the better of play. They fought back late and earned a point.
Vegas extended its lead atop the division and conference.
However, this is a game that the Golden Knights were chasing from the get-go. Jamie McGinn scored 3:15 into the first, and the Panthers led by one goal on three separate occasions -- four if you include after overtime.
What the Panthers did well was prevent the Golden Knights from getting a sustained attack, albeit for a few minutes late in the second period. Where for as many shots as Vegas had, it wasn't able to use its speed to fully exploit a Florida team that seemed a step behind. The Panthers did a better job than most of the Golden Knights' recent opponents at doing this.

Where even if Vegas had the better of play, Florida's style enabled it to stay in the game. And the Panthers were able to stay in the game all the way into overtime, where whoever wins is a bit of a coin flip.
Unfortunately for Vegas, the coin flip went in Florida's favor.
2. Special Teams Swing

It's been well documented how the Golden Knights' power play has struggled as of late. And tonight, a particular power play really hurt Vegas.
After David Perron scored to tie the game 1-1 in the first period, Jared McCann of the Panthers was quickly whistled down for a minor penalty. If Vegas had scored at this point in the game, it may have flipped the script and forced Florida to play catchup for the rest of the evening.
Instead, the Panthers' best forward, Aleksander Barkov, flipped the switch and scored a shorthanded goal. It was his 15th of the season.
Although Vegas recovered enough to get the better of the play and earn a point, the story of this game is how it was chasing Florida all night. This was the Golden Knights' best chance to break the cycle, which was negated by an unfortunate shorthanded goal.

3. Real Deal Of A Milestone

By scoring a highlight-reel goal to tie the game late in the third period, James Neal reached the 20-goal plateau for the 10th straight season. Which for him is all 10 seasons he's played in the NHL, encompassing tenures with the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators and Golden Knights.
To put Neal's milestone in perspective, consider that he's only the sixth active player to accomplish this feat. The other five are:
-Alexander Ovechkin
-Jaromir Jagr
-Jonathan Toews
-Patrick Kane
-Tomas Vanek