5 TAKEAWAYS: Kraken 5, Panthers 2

SUNRISE, Fla. -Wrapping up a difficult back-to-back, the Florida Panthers opened their three-game homestand with a 5-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken at FLA Live Arena on Sunday.
With the loss, Florida now sits at 13-12-4 in the standings.
"I don't think frustration has anything to do with the last two games," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "We didn't move quick enough in our last two games to expect to win. We weren't driving our legs. We looked like we played."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. STAAL STRIKES

Eric Staal erupted with emotion after this goal.
Finding the back of the net for the first time as a Panther, the 38-year-old veteran forward made it a 1-1 game when he beat Martin Jones with a shot from the slot at 7:34 of the second period.
A veteran of 18 seasons in the NHL, Staal has now scored a goal with six different franchises.

"Honestly, I'm here to play a role and contribute in any way I can," Staal said. "I've been asked to penalty kill a lot. I take a lot of pride in that and doing a good job with the guys. Obviously it's always nice to contribute offensively and score.
"I've been able to do that for most of my career. It took a little while to get that first one, but hopefully it'll open the floodgates a little bit and relax the shoulders and get a few more for this group as we keep moving forward."
On a nice run on the offensive side of the puck, Staal has cracked the scoresheet in five of his last six games, logging one goal and four assists while averaging 16:43 of ice time per game in that span.
With 442 goals in his career, Staal ranks fifth among active players in goals behind Alex Ovechkin (796), Sidney Crosby (534), Steven Stamkos (496) and Evgeni Malkin (452).

2. KIERSTED CHIPS IN

Matt Kiersted continues to chip in since his call-up.
Brought up from the AHL last week, the 24-year-old defenseman has tallied a point in three of four games since joining the Panthers. Against the Kraken, he recorded an assist when Chris Tierney tipped his shot from the point to trim Florida's deficit to 5-2 with 1:17 left in regulation.
"It's nice to see it finally go," said Kiersted, who has posted a goal and two assists since his call-up. "I think up until this point in the season it's been tough to get some offense going for me, so it's nice to see that start clicking. Ultimately you want to be putting up points and winning games."

Over the 8:01 of ice time Kiersted was deployed at 5-on-5 against Seattle, the Panthers were tied 6-6 in shot attempts and led 6-3 in scoring chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
"I know we have the winning quality in here," said Kiersted, who has appeared in 14 games with Florida in 2022-23. "We can do it in here. I don't think it's a matter of this team not being as good as the other teams or anything. Things are going to start clicking for us."

3. DANGER ZONE

The Kraken carved out some prime real estate against the Panthers.
While they only finished with a 32-25 advantage in shots on goal, the Kraken doubled up the Panthers in high-danger shot attempts, leading 20-10 in that category, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
With the Panthers not at 100% during the game, Seattle used its speed to take full advantage.
"They were quickest and on us, forced us to turn pucks over a little bit too much," Staal said. "They really attacked us with their quickness and their speed, and we just didn't seem to have enough guys with the gas needed to play."
Overall, those 20 high-danger shot attempts were the second-most the Panthers have allowed in a game this season, while the 10 high-danger shot attempts they fired the other way were tied for their third-fewest.
Showing the importance of getting to those critical areas on the ice, the Panthers have won just one of six games this season in which they've registered 11 or fewer high-danger shot attempts.

4. HOLDING DOWN THE FORT

Before the Kraken made their push in the third period, Sergei Bobrovsky stood on his head to keep the Panthers within striking distance throughout the majority of the game.
Keeping the deficit at 2-1, Bobrovsky stopped 16 of 18 shots over the course of the first two periods, including making several highlight-reel stops to hold the Kraken at bay.
One of his biggest stops came when he denied Will Borgen on a point-blank shot late in the first period.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, that was one of 13 high-danger saves for Bobrovsky in the game.
"I felt good," Bobrovsky said of his performance between the pipes. "It's nice to see some rhythm. Play hockey, play lots of minutes, I love that. It's great to be there, for sure."
Over his last four games, Bobrovsky has stopped 94 of 104 shots for a .904 save percentage.

5. MOVING FORWARD

The Panthers don't plan to dwell on this one.
With a day off on Monday before continuing their homestand with a matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Maurice asked players to leave the loss at the arena.
"They're not coming to the rink tomorrow, and that's exactly what they need," Maurice said.
With some time to regroup after a long road trip and a back-to-back over the weekend, the Panthers are also hoping to they'll get a key player or two back in the lineup in the near future.
As it stands now, Anton Lundell (illness), Spencer Knight (illness), Radko Gudas (upper body) and Patric Hornqvist (upper body) all remain out of action while nursing various ailments.
"This loss is already behind us," Bobrovsky said. "We have a day off tomorrow. We have to reset, regroup and get back to work. The biggest games are ahead of us, not behind us."