5 Takeaways: Bobrovsky Strong Again as Panthers Win Streak Reaches 7

SUNRISE, Fla. --The first 10 minutes belonged to the Bruins.
The other 50? All Panthers.
With Sergei Bobrovsky stopping 30 of 31 shots, the Panthers saw their season-opening winning streak reach seven games with a 4-1 victory over the Bruins at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday.

"We have four full lines, three full D pairs and two fantastic goalies," Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who skated in his 500th NHL game, said of the team's start. "We just come in waves. We're never out of a game."
Outshooting the Panthers 15-5 during the opening 20 minutes, the Bruins broke the ice tonight when a seemingly harmless shot from Charlie Coyle took a fortuitous bounce off a defender in front of the net and barely squeaked past Bobrovsky to make it 1-0 at 10:37 of the first period.
Finding their footing as the period rolled along, the Panthers pulled even when Sam Reinhart outmuscled a pair of Bruins along the half-wall and dished a pass to Mason Marchment for a laser of a wrist shot from the right circle that sailed past Linus Ullmark to make it 1-1 at 14:16.
Over the final 40 minutes, Florida would go on to outshoot Boston 22-16.
"I think we just started playing our game," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of the noticeable momentum swing midway through the opening period. "That's going to happen. When we're playing against a great team, it's not going to be our game the whole game or their game the whole game. These things will happen. We have Bob in net, and he did a great job."
With Reinhart at the center of the action once again, the Panthers took their first lead of the contest in the second period when the skilled winger sent a pass toward the crease to Eetu Luostarinen, who despite getting knocked down scored from his knees to make it 2-1 at 2:06.
Helping the Panthers extend the lead with an insane effort at 12:40 of the third period, Anthony Duclair took a silky-smooth stretch pass up the right boards from Ekblad, dashed toward the net and deftly tucked the puck around Ullmark's right leg before flying through the air to make it 3-1.
"That was a great goal," Barkov said. "He's such a fast and skilled skater."
With 25.4 seconds left in regulation, Owen Tippett made it 4-1 with an empty-net goal.
Already padding a franchise record, the Panthers' seven straight wins to start the season are also tied for the seventh-most in NHL history. With a chance to increase that number to eight, they'll kick off a back-to-back set on the road with a matchup against the Red Wings on Friday.
"It seemed like they came out pretty hot, for sure," said Ekblad, recapping tonight's win. "We've obviously played a lot of games here and we're doing well. Just the fact that we were able to turn it around and get a win is great. Bob played amazing and we got some timely goals."
Here are five takeaways from Wednesday's win in Sunrise…

1. MARCH IN OCTOBER

Marchment has been making things happen ever since he got in the lineup.
After missing the first two games of the season, the feisty forward has earned at least one point in four of the five games he's played in this season, including breaking the ice against the Bruins tonight with an absolute rocket of a wrist shot that made it 1-1 heading into the first intermission.

"Our line has been really good, not just this game but all season," Marchment said.
Putting up 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 33 games last season, Marchment is already halfway to that total, racking up five points (one goal, two assists) in five games this season. A physical presence on the third line, he also had three hits, one block and one takeaway tonight.

2. TAKE A BOW

It's all about the upper body!
After getting knocked down in front of Boston's net, Luostarinen still managed to fire a shot from his knees past Ullmark from the doorstep to give Florida a 1-0 lead at 2:06 of the second period.

Seeing increased playing time while rookie Anton Lundell remains out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury, Luostarinen, who appeared in 44 games with the Panthers last season, has scored one goal in four games, while also chipping in 10 hits and one blocked shot in that time.

3. PILING UP THE POINTS

Florida's first two goals tonight were the direct result of great passes from Reinhart.
Posting his second multi-point performance of the season, he now has points in each of his last five games, amassing two goals and five assists in that span to move into a tie for second place on the team's scoring leaderboard with seven points.
Not the only player filling up the scoresheet tonight, Gustav Forsling also dished out three assists, giving him a team-high seven on the season. Although it's only been seven games, 19 different Panthers have already recorded at least one point, while 16 have tallied multiple points.
"Everyone can contribute with points," Forsling said of the team's depth.

4. DUCLAIR CAN FLY

Ever see a Panther fly?
Well, you have now.
Sent up ice by a great pass from Ekblad, Duclair put on his superhero cape, flew towards the net and tucked a shot around Ullmark's outstretched pad and across the goal line before flying through the air to increase Florida's advantage to 3-1 with only 7:20 remaining in regulation.

"We're a full team," Duclair said of Florida's early-season success. "We're a family."
Showing off his incredible wheels each and every game, Duclair, who has been spending most of his time on the right side of the Panthers top line as of late, has now scored a team-high five goals, which at the time of this writing also places him in a tie for the ninth-most in the league. No matter how many more he scores, however, tonight's goal will be hard to top.

5. BOB DOES IT AGAIN

For the first time in his storied career, Bobrovsky is off to a 5-0-0 start.
Turning aside 30 of 31 shots against the Bruins, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner was spectacular from start to finish once again for the Panthers. Of those 30 saves, seven came on shots that were fired from high-danger areas on the ice, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
"It definitely feels good to win the game," Bobrovsky said. "The most important thing for me is to stay focused. One shot a time, just keep chipping away. We have a great team."

Through five starts, Bobrovsky boasts an outstanding .946 save percentage.
How has he done it?
"Preparation," Ekblad said. "Nobody prepares better than Bob. That's how he's always been. It's not anything new. He's been fantastic. He's got a fantastic attitude. He's got a will to succeed beyond anyone else on this team. We're really happy for him. He's doing great."

BONUS: RICHARDS HONORED

Prior to puck drop, the Panthers celebrated head equipment manager Teddy Richards for working his 1,500th professional game.
To read more about Richards and his amazing accomplishment, click HERE.