5 Takeaways: Barkov, Luongo Lead Panthers to 3rd-Straight Win

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Florida Panthers are going streaking.
Aleksander Barkov scored the go-ahead goal at 4:43 of the third period to help the Panthers (5-5-3) extend their winning streak to a season-high three games and get back to .500 with a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday night at BB&T Center.

"It all started in Finland," Barkov said of Florida's turnaround. "We played two really good games… that's when we got our confidence. That's when we learned how to win games. And, of course, Lu [Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo] has been unbelievable in our net and giving us a chance to win every game."
Making his third straight start since returning from an injury suffered in the season opener on Oct. 6, Luongo made 29 saves to improve to a perfect 3-0-0 this season. In that span, the 39-year-old netminder has been nearly infallible, turning away 100 of 105 shots (.952 percent).
"I think we're finding a pretty good rhythm," Luongo said. "Heading into the third period we have that confidence that we're going to pull it out, whether we're tied, ahead or trailing. It's kind of a little bit of the same feeling we had towards the end of last year. It's just a matter of keeping it going here."
After Denis Malgin put the Panthers up 1-0 early, the Islanders scored two straight goals before Mike Hoffman stopped the bleeding late in the second period. In the third, Florida allowed just five shots on goal and Barkov scored what proved to be the eventual game-winning goal on the power play. With one second left in regulation, Troy Brouwer's empty netter made it a 4-2 final.

The Panthers have now scored four goals in each of the last three games - all victories.
"We did some good things, protecting the lead once again," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "That's three games in a row. I think we're learning from past mistakes and getting better at managing the game."
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's win in Sunrise…

1. MAGIC MALGIN

Malgin scored his first goal of the season on Saturday night, as the 21-year-old forward was able to outmuscle Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock at the top of the crease and bang home a slick pass from Jared McCann to put the Panthers up 1-0 at 6:18 of the first period.

"We didn't have our start that we were wanting," Malgin said. "We tried to score and then, yeah, it happened."
In the midst of his third season with the Panthers, Malgin, a fourth-round pick in 2015, has now posted four points (one goal, three assists) in 11 games. In 51 games last season, the 5-foot-9, 177-pound forward posted new career highs in goals (11) and points (22).
"We always try to go hard every game, and now I think we start getting rewards," Malgin said.

2. HOFFMAN GOES TO 11

The Hoffman hype train doesn't show any signs of slowing down.
With time ticking down in the second period, the 28-year-old winger flipped a backhand shot on net from just below the red line that bounced of defender and in to make it a 2-2 game at 19:14 of the period, which gave the Panthers a much-needed clean slate heading into the final frame.

"The shot was going to the net, and I just tried to whack it towards the net again," Hoffman said. "When you've got things going your way, things just seem to fall -- you know, a little puck luck. It was a big timely goal for us."
With the goal, Hoffman extended his career-best point streak to 11 games - the longest active streak in the league. If he can pick up a point in his next two games, he'll move into a tie with Hall of Famer Pavel Bure (1999-00) for the longest point streak in franchise history with 13.
"We made our game a little more simple," Hoffman said of the win. "We limited the turnovers that created their offense and some of their first goals that they scored… Any time we can limit their offense is a big success for us."
Hoffman is now tied with Evgenii Dadonov for the team lead in goals (7).

3. DON'T FORGET DADDY

Speaking of Dadonov, the 29-year-old is also in the midst of a torrid streak of his own.
With the primary assist on Hoffman's clutch goal, Dadonov picked up a point in his 10th straight game - the longest such streak of his career. In joining Hoffman in the 10-game streak club, Dadonov gave the Panthers their first active double-digit point streak duo in franchise history.
"That's our responsibility, to put points up on the board and help this team win hockey games," Hoffman said of the dueling streaks. "Like I said, when things are going your way you just want to ride that wave as long as you can."
On the heels of a career-high 65-point campaign in 2017-18, Dadonov has picked up right where he left off in his second season with the Panthers. In addition to being tied with Hoffman for the team lead in goals, he also ranks first in points (15) and third in assists (tied-8).

4. CAPTAIN CLUTCH

Barkov did a little bit of everything on this sequence.
After an interference penalty sent the Panthers to a 4-on-3 power play, the 23-year-old captain won a key draw in the offensive zone to give his team time to set up. Moments later, he took a pass from Keith Yandle and fired a laser of a wrist shot to make it 3-2 early in the third period.
"All I had to do was just put it in because Huby [Panthers winger Jonathan Huberdeau] was there and made a really good screen," Barkov said.

Barkov now has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 13 games. Additionally, after starting the season 0-for-13 on the power play, the Panthers are now red-hot with the man advantage, going 8-for-28 (29.1 percent) over their last six games after a 1-for-5 night against New York. "We talk a lot about the power play," Barkov said. "The last couple games have been going well and we've been scoring goals. But we still can get a lot better. We need to keep going and keep getting better and keep talking about it and keep practicing it."
Florida has scored at least one power play goal in four of its last five contests.

5. KILL STREAK

As good as the Panthers power play has been, the penalty kill is also ramping up.
After going 3-for-3 in Thursday's 4-1 win over Edmonton, Florida's penalty kill was perfect once again on Saturday night, killing off all four of New York's opportunities with the man advantage.
"Hopefully we've turned a corner," Boughner said. "We're getting a little more confidence on the PK. Again, we talk about the intangibles -- winning faceoffs, blocking shots, our clears. I think all of those things have been better. We're getting a little more sacrifice on the PK, which is good."
Of Luongo's 29 saves, six came when the Panthers were down a man, including a key stick save on Islanders forward Anders Lee late in the second period to keep the Cats within one.

"It was huge," Luongo said of the penalty kill. "We had some huge kills. I don't really think they had anything crazy as far a scoring chances - a lot of shots from outside. I'll take those all day long."