5 Takeaways: Bobrovsky Near Perfect as Panthers Beat Coyotes

The Florida Panthers simply had to win this game, and Sergei Bobrovsky made sure they did.
Playing like a man possessed between the pipes, Bobrovsky turned aside 37 of 38 shots to help lead the Panthers to a crucial 2-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Tuesday.

"It was a great team win," Bobrovsky said. "I think it's the team that was the first star. They made great blocked shots, great backchecks, perfect timing. They made a hell of a backcheck at the end, the very last second. It's a great time to play hockey. I thought the guys played great."
Looking to end their five-game road trip above .500 and keep pace in the playoff race, Florida fell behind early in the desert when Brad Richardson followed his own rebound and rifled a shot past Bobrovsky for a shorthanded goal that gave Arizona a 1-0 lead at 14:16 of the first period.
That goal, however, would prove to be the lone blemish on a great night for Florida's defense.
"It hurt early, no doubt," Panthers blueliner Aaron Ekblad said. "You don't want that ever. It's on us as a whole team to secure that and lock that down, but the fact that we really rebounded and did a good job not losing our focus at any point shows the resiliency of our team."
In the second period, Frank Vatrano answered right back for the Panthers when he wired a wrist shot through heavy traffic past Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper at 11:03 to even things up at 1-1 and set the stage for what would prove to be a thrilling final 20 minutes of regulation.
Kuemper, who was making his first start since Dec. 19, finished with 23 saves on 25 shots.
Sent to a crucial power play after Evgenii Dadonov drew a penalty just before the midway point of the third period, Mike Hoffman took a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and quickly blasted a one-timer past Kuemper from the left circle to send Florida up 2-1 with 11:10 left on the clock.
And with Bobrovsky and the defense locking things down, that was all they needed to win.
"We haven't played in many games trying to protect the lead like that in a real tight situation," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "It felt like a playoff-type of environment, knowing that the next goal was big. It was a tremendous play on the power play."
With the win, the Panthers (33-24-6) remain two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (33-23-8) for third place in the Atlantic Division with one game in hand. On Thursday, a playoff spot will be on the line when they meet at BB&T Center in the penultimate game of their season series.
"At this time of the year, you can look at the standings and see how tight everything is," Bobrovsky said. "Every point is huge for us. We're very happy that we got two tonight."
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's win in Arizona…

1. GETTING EVEN

Newcomer Erik Haula made his presence felt on this scoring play.
After receiving a quick pass from Hoffman, Vatrano took advantage of a great screen by Haula, who was set up on top of the crease, and threaded a shot through traffic that flew past a blinded Kuemper into the net to get Florida on the board and make it 1-1 at 11:03 of the second period.

"It's been good," Vatrano told FOX Sports Florida's Jessica Blaylock when asked about playing with Haula during an interview in the first intermission. "Obviously he's a two-way forward. He works extremely hard and can make plays. I think he fits in well with me and Hoffman."
In picking up his 16th goal of the season, Vatrano has now chipped in three points (one goal, two assists) over his last five games. In addition to ranking seventh on Florida in points (32), the 25-year-old winger also ranks second on the team in hits (92), including five tonight against the Coyotes.

2. THE NEW GUYS

After being acquired by the Panthers in a trade with Carolina during Monday's NHL trade deadline, both Haula and fellow forward Lucas Wallmark brought something to the ice during their debuts.
Centering Vatrano and Hoffman on the second line, Haula skated 14:43, including 54 seconds on the team's second power-play unit. In addition to his very timely screen, the 28-year-old also chipped in one hit, went 6-for-14 in the faceoff circle and finished with a solid plus-one rating.
Wallmark, meanwhile, spent the night flanked by Brett Connolly and Aleksi Saarela on the third line. Taking the ice for 12:39, the 24-year-old made several nice plays along the boards and in the defensive zone while also posting one block, two hits and going 6-for-13 in the faceoff dot.

"I like 'em a lot," Quenneville said. "I thought both guys gave us a lot of strength in the faceoff circle, a lot of positionally-aware strength in the puck area. They look like they kept themselves in a lot of plays and sustained a lot of pucks. They're aware defensively, keeping themselves in situations offensively, but they know that there's some safety to their game as well."
Overall, both players appear poised to become big pieces of the playoff push moving forward.

3. THE WINNER

Heading into the first period tied 1-1, it felt like the first goal of the third would be the winner.
With the Panthers in search of a spark on the power play in the third period, Huberdeau took a quick pass from Aleksander Barkov behind the net before sending the puck to Hoffman, who then ripped a blistering one-timer from the left circle to make it 2-1 with 11:10 left in regulation.

When asked about the goal, Hoffman said it was a set play the team had been working on.
"Sometimes we try to run a couple plays on the power play, and we felt like it was the right time to do it," he said. "We were lucky enough to win the draw and be able to execute the play."
Extending his point streak to five games and his goal streak to three games, Hoffman currently ranks tied for first on Florida in goals (25) and third in points (52). With tonight's clutch goal, the 30-year-old winger also managed to reach the 25-goal plateau for the fifth time in his career.
Finishing 1-for-2, the Panthers have gone 4-for-9 on the power play over their last three games.

4. BOBROVSKY COMES UP BIG

If it seemed like most of Bobrovsky's saves tonight were spectacular, it's because they were.
Of the 37 shots the 31-year-old veteran stopped against the Coyotes, a whopping 13 of them originated from high-danger areas on the ice, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. That number doesn't include the five rebound attempts that he faced, of which he was able to stop four.
But, like Bobrovsky said, the entire defense came together to help him out, especially late.
"He stood on his head and did a great job for us," Ekblad said. "I think we were able to clear pucks out in front of him and did a good job on breakouts. It was a full five-man unit in the D-zone tonight. Our wingers locked down the point and did a good job of really forcing everything to the outside."
Over his last four starts, Bobrovsky owns a 3-1-0 record with a .931 save percentage.
"That was a goalie win," Quenneville said. "You get a few over the course of a season. That was big, huge. Especially in that first period, key saves; in the second period, key saves. He stood tall there."

5. BIGGEST GAME TO DATE

This will be about as close to a playoff game as you can get during the regular season.
Following tonight's win, the Panthers will now head home to host Toronto in a critical matchup at BB&T Center on Thursday. With a win against the Maple Leafs, they'd climb into third place in the Atlantic Division and claim a place in the postseason with 18 games left on their schedule.
Florida is 2-0-0 against Toronto this season, winning those games by a combined score of 13-7.
"It's a tough game for us, that first game back," Quenneville said. "We know the value of those four-point swings and what they] lead to. Let's do everything we can to know that that's the most important game we've had to date."
For tickets to the game, please visit
[FloridaPanthers.com/Tickets
.