5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers' Home Win Streak Snapped in Loss to Kraken

SUNRISE, Fla. - Well, there's nothing wrong with 11 straight wins.
With a chance to set a new NHL record by starting 12-0-0 at home, the Panthers were denied their bid at making history with a tough 4-1 loss to the Kraken at FLA Live Arena on Saturday.

"We just weren't clean," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "It wasn't out of a lack of effort. We just weren't sharp. There's going to be nights like that. It's unfortunate that it comes at home at a time when you could've done something pretty cool, but that's hockey."
Still sitting atop the Atlantic Division with 14-4-3 record, the Panthers will now have to settle for being tied with the 1963-64 Blackhawks for the best start on home ice in NHL history at 11-0-0.
"We all knew what was at stake tonight, but it's behind us now," Panthers forward Owen Tippett said of the team's stellar streak coming to an end. "We have to look forward to the next game."
Despite their 7-13-1 record, it was clear from the start that Seattle was going to put up a fight.
Not long after Chris Driedger denied Jonathan Huberdeau on a shorthanded breakaway, the Kraken opened the scoring when Jordan Eberle collected a pass in the slot on the power play and unloaded a one-timer into the twine from the slot to make it 1-0 at 2:22 of the first period.
Tying up the game with a timely tip, Patric Hornqvist then got the Panthers on the board and made it 1-1 when he re-directed a slap shot from MacKenzie Weegar into the cage at 6:59.
Scoring in a similar fashion less than five minutes later, the Kraken retook the lead when Ryan Donato deflected a point shot from Jamie Oleksiak past Spencer Knight to make it 2-1 at 10:40.
In the second period neither team found the back of the net, but the Panthers looked to be in control for the majority of the 20 minutes. Leading 13-7 in shots on goal in the period, Florida also owned advantages in shot attempts (21-14) and scoring chances (13-7) in all situations.
"I think when you get chances and they don't go your way, frustration builds up," Tippett said. "You've got to find a way to put that aside in games like that and keep working shift after shift."
Despite that push, the Panthers fell behind further in the third period when, after Yanni Gourde forced a turnover in the offensive zone and fired a shot on net, Eberle buried a backhand shot on the rebound for his second goal of the night to increase Seattle's advantage to 3-1 at 5:57.
With the Panthers pulling their goaltender in favor of the extra attacker as they attempted to spark a comeback later in the period, Oleksiak provided the dagger for the Kraken when he fired a puck down the ice and cashed in on the empty net to make it 4-1 with 3:25 left in regulation.
Knight finished with 23 saves, while Dreidger made 33 to earn his first win with Seattle.
"We've seen it before," Brunette said of Driedger, who spent two seasons in South Florida before being claimed by the Kraken in the Expansion Draft. "He's made some big saves. We really didn't get enough puck traffic around the net or inside, so we made it a little bit easier on him. But he made some great saves. He played great for us last year, so it's not surprising."
Looking to start a new winning streak, the Panthers will host the Capitals on Tuesday.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's loss in Sunrise…

1. HORNQVIST WITH THE TIP

If there was a heat chart of where Hornqvist scores his goals, this area would be bright red.
Setting shop in his office right around the low slot, the hard-nosed veteran tipped a heavy slap shot from Weegar past Driedger and into the net to make it a 1-1 game early in the first period.

"Patric in front of that net, that's what he does best," Thornton said. "Great play all around."
A veteran leader and steady contributor on the fourth line, Hornqvist has compiled 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 21 games this season. All over the ice against the Kraken, he also racked up three shots on goal, four hits and one takeaway over 13:45 of ice time tonight.

2. CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS

Move over, Paul Coffey.
With the secondary assist on Hornqvist's goal, Thornton broke a tie with the Hall of Fame defenseman, who he briefly played with during the 2000-01 season, to claim sole possession of 13th place on the NHL's all-time scoring list with the 1,532nd point of his long and storied career.

"I just love competing every night," said Thornton, who is in the midst of his 24th season in the NHL. "I love the guys. I love the camaraderie, the fellowship. Hockey, I have a smile on my face just talking about it. It means so much."
With a chance to keep moving up the all-time points leaderboard in the near future, Thornton now just needs one more goal or assist to tie Mark Recchi (1,533) for 12th place on the list. In 11 games this season, the 42-year-old veteran has recorded three points (one goal, two assists).

3. ON THE OUTSIDE

The Panthers had a hard time carving out quality real estate against the Kraken.
Although they led 67-43 in shot attempts, only 11 of those shots came from high-danger areas on the ice, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. For the most part, the Kraken pushed everything to the outside once they gained the lead, which limited second and third chances for the Cats.
"They stuck to their game plan," Brunette said. "They played really well. They didn't give us a whole lot. It's how we figured they were going to play, but we just weren't able to get inside the ice enough. We didn't do enough offensively to give ourselves a chance. Credit to them."
Across the ice, Seattle converted on three of their 11 shots from high-danger areas.
"I've played on an expansion team before and I know they play hard every night," Brunette said. "We knew that coming in. They stuck to their game plan, and we didn't really break through to get them on their heels and sustain. We've done so much at home where we're kind of rolling wave after wave of attack. Tonight, we just kind of had a hard time getting that momentum."

4. THE STREAK

Now that it's over, let's take a quick look back at Florida's historic start in Sunrise.
During their 11-0-0 run in which they matched the 1963-64 Blackhawks for the best start at home in NHL history, the Panthers outscored the opposition 50-23. Leading the charge on offense in those games, Anthony Duclair and Aaron Ekblad tallied a team-high 13 points.
"Now we've just got to start another streak," Thornton said of the franchise-record run at home. "It was a good streak at home here, but now on Tuesday we have to try and start another one."
Also benefitting from a strong one-two punch between the pipes during the streak, Sergei Bobrovsky went 7-0-0 with a 1.76 goals-against average and .948 save percentage, while Knight owned a 4-0-0 record with a 2.71 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.
Dating back to last season, Florida had won 15 straight regular-season games at home.

5. NEXT UP

After playing three games in four nights, the Cats will now catch their breath.
Following an off day on Sunday, the team will return to practice on Monday in preparation for their upcoming tilt against the Capitals on Tuesday at FLA Live Arena. Already wrapping up their three-game series, the Panthers and Capitals split their first two meetings of the season.
Continuing their homestand after that, the Panthers will host the Sabres on Thursday and then the Blues on Saturday before hitting the road for games at St. Louis, Arizona and Colorado.
"We've got three more home games here," Brunette said. "We've just got to get back to work. We lost two in a row. We did that a couple weeks ago. We lost some overtime games and we started playing better. These home games are crucial because we go on the road for a while."
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