5 TAKEAWAYS: Depleted Panthers Battle Hard in Loss to Kings

SUNRISE, Fla. -The Panthers didn't pick up any points, but they showed a lot of heart.
With numerous key players unavailable due to the NHL's COVID-19 protocols, the Panthers iced just 16 skaters -- including a handful of rookies -- during a 4-1 loss to the Kings at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.

"They competed their butts off," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of the effort.
For the four players that came up from the AHL, tonight's game was their third in three nights.
"I'm really happy for those kids," Brunette said of the young call-ups. "It's not easy for them. We're asking those kids to play three-in-three, meaning three games in three nights, and their third game is an NHL game. That's hard to do, and they all played pretty prominent roles there tonight. Kudos to them."
Breaking the ice with his first-career NHL goal, rookie Matt Kiersted, who was one of those players that came up from AHL earlier today, skated into the slot, took a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and lifted a shot straight over Jonathan Quick with his backhand to make it a 1-0 game at 14:56 of the first period.
Tying it up for the Kings less than three minutes later, an attempted cross-ice pass from Olli Maata bounced off a defender in front of the net and past Sergei Bobrovsky to make it a 1-1 game at 17:05.
"Tough to put into words," Kiersted said of netting his first NHL goal. "It's a pretty incredible feeling."
Lighting the lamp once again in the second period just moments after their power play expired -- a man advantage created by a comically bad flop from Quick -- the Kings doubled their lead when Anze Kopitar flew down the right side of the ice and beat Bobrovsky off his backhand to make it a 2-1 contest at 3:27.
Later in the middle frame, Dustin Brown scored put Los Angeles up 3-1 at 12:58.
"I think we could've helped him out a little bit," Brunette said of Bobrovsky, who stopped 27 of 31 shots he faced. "He made some big saves earlier in the game. We had a few breakdowns there that left him out to dry a little bit. We unfortunately couldn't capitalize to get us back to where we needed to be."
Icing the game, Arthur Kaliyev buried a shot from the high slot to make it 4-1 at 7:02 of the third period. Sitting at 18-7-4, the Panthers will kick off a two-game road trip in Minnesota on Saturday.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday's loss in Sunrise…

1. KEY PLAYERS MISSING

You can almost fill a whole roster with the players the Panthers are currently missing.
With Aleksander Barkov and Maxim Mamin already sidelined with injuries, seven other key players were unavailable to suit up against Los Angeles after being added to the NHL's COVID-19 list: Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, Radko Gudas, Ryan Lomberg, Brandon Montour, Frank Vatrano and Carter Verhaeghe.
Additionally, Gustav Forsling missed his second straight game due to a non-COVID illness.
"Obviously it was different circumstances, unprecedented times," Panthers forward Anthony Duclair said. "You didn't really know what was going to happen. A lot of guys out with COVID, but I'm happy with the way the guys battled out there tonight, especially the guys that came up from Charlotte."
Stay tuned to @FlaPanthers on Twitter for more updates on Florida's roster over the weekend.

2. KIERSTED'S FIRST

You never forget you first, especially if it looks this good.
Netting the first goal of his NHL career in outstanding fashion, Kiersted finished off a nifty passing play by beating Quick with a silky backhand shot from the slot to put the Panthers up 1-0 in the first period.
Immediately after the goal, Kiersted was mobbed by a joyous Duclair.

"When I see a guy score his first NHL goal, it brings me back to when I scored mine," Duclair said. "That feeling is just unbelievable. It's the best feeling in the world. You work your whole life to get to that point, to finally see that puck go in. For Matt, I was happy for him. Congrats to him and his family."
Skating in just his 12th NHL game (fifth this season), Kiersted, in addition to scoring his goal, registered two shots on goal, three hits, one blocked shot and two takeaways over a career-high 21:11 of ice time.
In 21 games in the AHL this season, he's tallied 10 points (two goals, eight assists).
"When you're playing in the NHL, it's easy to get up for these games," Kiersted said.

3. RIVETING REINFORCEMENTS

In addition to Kiersted, three other players came up from the AHL to play in tonight's tilt.
Up front, Grigori Denisenko and Cole Schwindt filled in two spots, while Chase Priskie joined Kiersted in lending a hand on the blue line. Not a part of that group but coming up from the AHL recently, Aleksi Heponiemi, who was recalled from Charlotte on Tuesday, also appeared in his second straight contest.
"I thought they brought a lot to the hockey game," Brunette said of the call-ups. "I thought they all played extremely well for us. I was really happy for them. It was a good opportunity. They stepped in and they played exceptional. For us as an organization, it was great to see them play at that level."
Of that quartet of prospects, Priskie saw the most usage.
Appearing in his second NHL game, the Pembroke Pines native and former Jr. Panther posted three hits, one blocked shot and one takeaway while seeing a career-high 25:29 of ice time against Los Angeles.
"He played exceptional," Brunette said of Priskie. "He used his feet. I thought he managed the game very well. He picked the spots to be up in the rush. He battled when he needed. He was heavy on pucks. Again, he's another guy I'm so happy for. I'm sure it feels good to play a game like that at home."

4. SCHWINDT DEBUTS

This was a night that Cole Schwindt will never forget.
Making his NHL debut after being called up from the Checkers to help the Panthers, the 20-year-old forward dished out five hits and also tallied one takeaway over 9:27 of ice time against the Kings.
"I didn't have much trouble getting legs for tonight," Schwindt smiled. "I tried to have a pre-game nap, but there was no chance I was falling asleep. I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life."
A third-round pick (81st overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft, Schwindt, who spent time on Florida's taxi squad late in 2020-21, had been off to a hot start in the AHL before his recall. Lacing up his skates in 25 games with the Checkers, he currently ranks tied for first on the team in goals (9) and sits third in points (17).
"He fit right in," Brunette said of Schwindt, who played with several different linemates tonight. "I kind of looked at the time on ice [afterwards] and thought I could've played him a little bit more. I thought he was effective. He's what we thought he was going to be. I think there's a lot more upside there for him."

5. POSSESSION BATTLE

Even with so many different pieces, the Panthers still executed their game plan.
Winning the possession battle as they so often do, the Cats controlled 53.68% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 against the Kings. Additionally, they also led 31-26 in shots on goal, 27-18 in scoring chances and 9-7 in high-danger shot attempts. Even though they didn't win tonight, that's a good recipe for future success.
"The process of the game was very positive, but the result was negative," Brunette said. "Now it's a couple [losses] in a row here. I thought we had an opportunity to win that hockey game, regardless of what we say [about] the lineup. We had a chance to win, but we didn't capitalize on opportunities."
At the time of this writing, the Panthers lead the NHL in Corsi for percentage (56.99%) and also rank second in expected-goals for percentage (55.84%) at 5-on-5 play, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.