5 Takeaways: 'Goal Acciari' Nets Another Hat Trick in Win Over Preds

On National Oreo Day, the man they call "Cookie" did it again.
After becoming only the second player in franchise history to record back-to-back hat tricks last season, Noel Acciari had the hot stick once again this afternoon, scoring three goals to help lift the Panthers to a dominating 6-2 victory over the Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

"It was a great feeling," said Acciari, who began the day in search of his first goal of the season. "I was just hoping to get one tonight to just to get my first of the season, but to get the other two was definitely exciting. A lot of guys are putting a lot of pressure on me about tomorrow now."
As for the cookie-themed holiday, Acciari said he plans to celebrate accordingly.
"I just heard that," said Acciari, who earned his sugary nickname by eating a cookie before every game. "It makes a lot of sense now. I've got to make sure I get my Oreos in for today."
Starting off a bit slow before really taking off, the Panthers trailed the Predators 10-0 in shots during the opening 10 minutes of the first period. On their heels a bit, they also fell into an early 1-0 hole when Eeli Tolvanen sent a slap shot past Sergei Bobrovsky on the power play at 5:46.
Pushing back, the Panthers then owned a 9-2 advantage in shots during the final 10 minutes of the period. And with 12 seconds left on the clock, Aaron Ekblad managed to even the score with a sweet top-shelf snipe over Pekka Rinne's glove to make it 1-1 going into the first intermission.
"They came out really hard," Panthers forward Patric Hornqvist said. "They had the first 10 minutes of the first period, but then we took over. [Ekblad's] goal was huge for us. Coming into the room with a 1-1 game, we were feeling that we could score and had some momentum."
Feeding off that momentum, Jonathan Huberdeau gave the Panthers the lead just 1:15 into the second period when, catching the Predators in a change, he took a stretch pass from Hornqvist, skated in on Rinne and made a few nifty dekes before lifting the puck into the net to make it 2-1.
Solid between the pipes once again, Bobrovsky stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced, while Rinne finished with 26 saves on 32 shots. Over his last five appearances, Bobrovsky has gone 3-1-1 while turning aside 151 of 164 shots for an outstanding .921 save percentage in that span.
"Bob was really good for us," Hornqvist said. "A big effort from all 20 guys."
Later in the period, Acciari - aka "Goal Acciari" - helped the Panthers pull away with a pair of scores at 11:17 and 18:46, respectively, to make it a 4-1 game through 40 minutes of action. "
I was just focused on trying to play a simple game, not grip the stick too tight and just try to get that first one," Acciari said of his breakout. "It comes in bunches sometimes… I'm just hoping I can continue to help out the team, whether it's getting on the board or just blocking a shot."
Getting one back for Nashville, Viktor Arvidsson scored 19 second into the third period to trim Florida's lead down to 4-2. However, that comeback attempt was eventually shot down when Frank Vatrano took a drop pass from Aleksander Barkov and scored to make it 5-2 at 14:56.
Showing off his Selke Trophy-worthy skills on the play, Barkov was able to get the puck to Vatrano after he swiped the biscuit from a Predators skater while pressing on the forecheck.

With time winding down and a hat trick on the line, Panthers coach Joel Quenneville decided to deploy Acciari on the power play late in the game. Netting the first power-play goal of his career, he rewarded his coach's trust by cashing in on a rebound to not only secure the third hat trick of his career, but also essentially lock in the 6-2 win with 3:02 remaining on the clock in regulation.
Improving to 15-4-4, the Panthers boast an impressive 8-1-1 record on the road this season.
"He either scores none or he scores three," Quenneville grinned when asked about Acciari's game. "He gets three at a time. Pretty impressive. He gets flurries. Nice to see him score. Around the net, I think he's been pressing. He doesn't get a ton of chances, but he's usually pretty nifty."
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's win in the Music City…

1. EKBLAD KEEPS ROLLING

The #Ekblad4Norris hashtag is starting to pick up steam.
After scoring a pair of goals in Thursday's win, the 25-year-old defenseman opened things up for the Panthers this afternoon, carrying the puck into the offensive zone before burying a wrist shot from beyond the right circle to make it a 1-1 game with 12 seconds left in the first period.
Dating back to last game, Ekblad succeeded in scoring in three straight periods.

"I thought it was a great goal, great timing for us," Quenneville said. "That really changed the complexion of the game. We really fed off of that… He had a great game again tonight coming off two outstanding games here in Nashville."
Racking up a whopping six points (three goals, three assists) over his last two games, Ekblad currently leads all NHL defensemen in goals (9) and power-play goals (5), while also sitting tied for eighth in points (17). Additionally, his 25:12 of ice time per game places him in 10th place.
"Another big game out of him," Acciari said of Ekblad.

2. PICKING ON THE PREDS

The Predators are going to check under their bed for Huberdeau later tonight.
With four goals against Nashville already this season, the 27-year-old scored once again this afternoon, taking a stretch pass from Hornqvist before skating in all alone on Rinne, making a few dekes and then lifting the puck into the net put Florida up 2-1 at 1:15 of the second period.

"I kind of felt like I had some time on the breakaway," Huberdeau said. "Horny made a great pass. I didn't know what was going on. I kind of felt that I could go blocker side. It was a big goal at the time for our team."
Leading the Panthers in goals (10) and points (28) this season, Huberdeau has now posted back-to-back two-point games, notching a goal and an assist during each game in Nashville.
The 158th goal of his career, Huberdeau, who's in his ninth season with the Panthers, has now surpassed Scott Mellanby (157) to move into third place on the franchise's all-time goals list.

3. HORNQVIST HITS 500

With an assist on Huberdeau's goal, Hornqvist picked up the 500th point of his NHL career.
"Obviously, it feels good to get that 500th point," Hornqvist said. "But the biggest thing tonight was our resilience out there. We scored a big goal at the end of the first period and then we took over in the second… We just kept going and played the right way. When we do that, we have a good team."

Nothing short of a revelation since being acquired by the Panthers in a trade with the Penguins during the offseason, Hornqvist has been producing at nearly a point-per-game pace, posting 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 23 games this season, including five goals on the power play.
Over his last five games, the 34-year-old veteran has recorded one goal and four assists.

4. GOAL ACCIARI RETURNS

When Acciari gets hot, he's proven he can score in bunches.
After posting back-to-back hat tricks last season - joining Pavel Bure as only the second player in franchise history achieve such an epic feat - the 29-year-old forward brought the same magic touch this afternoon, potting his first three goals of the season to earn his third-career hat trick.
"We know he can score," Huberdeau said of Acciari. "He had back-to-back hat tricks last year."
On his first goal, Acciari pushed past a defender into the neutral zone before skating in a on a 2-on-1 break with Juho Lammikko. Opting to keep the puck, he then rifled a shot from the right circle that went off the post and into the net to put Florida up 3-1 at 11:17 of the middle frame.

"Having four lines that can contribute is huge for a team," said Acciari, who scored both of his hat tricks last season while skating in the team's top-six rather than the bottom-six. "That's when you make deep runs, when you have four lines that can play at both ends of the ice."
A little over seven minutes later, he was back at it again. Following up a long shot from Keith Yandle from center ice, Acciari skated through Nashville's defenders, jumped on the ensuing rebound and slipped a backhand shot past a befuddled Rinne to make it a 4-1 game at 18:46.

Capping off a massive game late in the third period, Acciari made the most out of some rare ice time on the power play, backhanding in a rebound from the low slot after Yandle's initial shot from beyond the left circle was stopped to put the Cats up 6-2 with 3:02 remaining in regulation.
Making a bit of history in the process, Acciari joined Bure, Olli Jokinen and Ray Sheppard as the only four players in franchise history to have registered at least three hat tricks as a Panther.

"I was trying to take advantage of my opportunity to play on the power play," Acciari said. "Just getting that goal was an awesome feeling. It was a big sigh of relief after."

5. DENISENKO DEBUTS

Recalled from the Taxi Squad, Grigori Denisenko made his NHL debut this afternoon.
Taken by the Panthers with the 15th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, the 20-year-old forward was deployed on the team's third line alongside Mason Marchment and Eetu Luostarinen in his debut. In 12:59 of ice time against the Predators, he posted two shots, one hit and one block.
As is tradition, he was also treated to a rookie lap during warm-ups.

Coming over to North America from Russia after spending the past three seasons in the KHL, Denisenko began the 2020-21 campaign with Florida's AHL affiliate in Syracuse. In four games with the Crunch, he registered three points (two goals, one assist) before earning his call-up.