5 Takeaways: Panthers Look Strong, Take Point from Lightning in OT Loss

In a game that certainly had the look and feel of a heated playoff series -- it was even broadcast on national television -- the Panthers played a strong game from start to finish but came away with only a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the intrastate rival Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Thursday.

"A tough ending again," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "I like the way we played in that third period. We had everything going our way except the finish. You get a 2-on-1, 2-on-1, 2-on-1, and then that's the game. We had some great chances tonight. I like the balance of our lines."
With the Cats coming out hot and pressuring the Bolts from of the moment the puck hit the ice in the first period, Patric Hornqvist managed to draw first blood tonight when he gathered a feed from Alex Wennberg and backhanded a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 1-0 at 15:13.
If not for the play of Vasilevskiy and a few posts, Florida's early lead could've been even higher.
"[Vasilevskiy] is a special goalie in this league," said Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour, who recently came over in a trade with Buffalo. "We were the better team 5-on-5. ... We've just got to take that 5-on-5 approach that we had in the first period and carry it into the next game."
Catching the Panthers in a line change, the Lightning pulled even in the second period on the power play when Alex Killorn carried the puck into the offensive zone on an odd-man rush and set up Anthony Cirelli for a tap-in goal from right on the doorstep to make it a 1-1 game at 13:28.
Unleashing his patented spin-o-rama, Jonathan Huberdeau then put the Panthers back on top 2-1 when he twirled around before sending a cross-ice pass to Anthony Duclair, who capped off the highlight-reel sequence by blasting a wicked shot past Vasilevskiy at 7:13 of the third period.
Netting the equalizer for the Lightning a little over two minutes later, Ross Colton re-directed a pass from Mikhail Sergachev past Chris Driedger from the side of the net to make it 2-2 at 9:57.
With the game eventually going to overtime despite an excellent third period from the Panthers, Victor Hedman tucked the puck around Driedger's right pad to lock in the win for the Lightning.
Despite the loss, however, the Panthers rightfully found many positives to point to following the hard-fought game. And given that it could potentially end up being a preview of a series that we see when the postseason arrives next month, the Lightning know they'll have their hands full.
Sitting at 27-12-5, Florida trails Tampa Bay (29-12-2) by one point in the Central Division.
"Everybody expects the job to get done by the prior line, the next line or your line," Quenneville said when asked about the intensity of games ramping up down the home stretch. "It just seems to bring that type of an emotion to the game. If you want to win, that's the consistency and predictability that's going to get your team to the next level. We welcome the challenge."
Here are five takeaways from Thursday's loss in Tampa…

1. COMING OUT HOT

Hornqvist lives for big games like this.
Putting a bow on an impressive opening 20 minutes for the Panthers, the 34-year-old veteran forward broke the ice when he took a pass from Wennberg and lifted a backhand shot from the left circle past Vasilevskiy and into the cage to make it a 1-0 game at 15:13 of the first period.

"A nice rush play," Quenneville said. "Kind of a deception with his release on the backhander."
With nearly 100 playoff games under his belt, Hornqvist, who is in his first season with Florida, will be counted on more and more as the postseason approaches. Suiting up in 40 games this season, he ranks fifth on the team in goals (13), sixth in assists (16) and fourth in points (29).
"His experience is going to be very valuable during the stretch run," Quenneville said.

2. SPIN CITY

He did it again!
After cracking SportsCenter's top-10 earlier this season with a spin-o-rama pass, Huberdeau showed off a similar move again tonight, whirling around on a 2-on-1 break before setting up Duclair for a one-timer with a backhand feed to put Florida up 2-1 at 7:13 of the third period.

"He's such a great passer," Duclair said of Huberdeau. "He's so deceptive when he gets the puck. For myself, I just try to stay ready at all times, just be ready because it's going to go straight to my stick. That was a hell of a pass. He makes unreal plays all the time."
By picking up that assist, Huberdeau moved back into a tie with Aleksander Barkov for the team-scoring lead with 44 points. Duclair, meanwhile, recorded his fifth goal of the season and extended his point streak to four games. In that span, he's tallied two goals and two helpers.
"I think it was a pretty solid game all-around," Duclair said. "All four lines were playing pretty good and we had some solid goaltending. We came up short, but there's a lot of positives to take out of this one. We knew it was going to be a grind against these guys."

3. MONTOUR MAKES AN IMPACT

Montour was very noticeable during his debut with the Panthers.
Acquired from the Sabres for a 2021 third-round pick, the 27-year-old defenseman made a strong first impression during tonight's game, notching one hit, one block and one takeaway over 17:59 of ice time. Additionally, Florida outscored Tampa Bay 2-0 when he was on the ice.
"I was happy with my game," said Montour, who tallied 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 39 games with Buffalo before being dealt. "I just wanted to keep it simple. There are little tweaks here and there that teams change with how they make up plays, whether it's numbers or words or what-not. Tonight, I just wanted to keep it simple and play the right way."
Helping him feel comfortable, Montour said he got a lot of help from his new teammates, especially his defensive partner Markus Nutivaara, who chipped in a pair of assists tonight. "I felt me and Nuti there were solid together," Montour said. "We moved our feet, talked and helped each other. I think they're all vocal with me, helping me out as much as they can."

4. FELLOW NECOMERS

Joining Montour, Lucas Wallmark and Nikita Gusev also debuted with Florida tonight.
Playing alongside Barkov on Florida's top line as well as the top power-play unit, Gusev posted three shots on goal over 17:54 of ice time. Wallmark, meanwhile, centered the second line and notched one block and one takeaway while winning 55% of his faceoffs over 13:37 of ice time.
A former MVP in the KHL, Gusev had recorded 49 points in 86 career games with New Jersey before signing with Florida as a free agent, while Wallmark, who suited up in seven games with the Panthers last season, had appeared in 16 games with Chicago prior to being traded right back.
"Wally getting back, I think he's familiar with how we play," Quenneville said. "That was beneficial. He played with a couple guys that did well. … Goose had some exposure to some quality ice time against some tough defensemen and got some power play time as well."
As for other recent additions, Sam Bennett could potentially make his debut on Saturday.

5. TIPPING YOUR CAP

If it wasn't for Vasilevskiy, the end result likely would've been very different tonight.
A front-runner for the Vezina Trophy -- an award he won previously back in 2018-19 -- the 26-year-old netminder turned aside 36 of 38 shots to pick up his 26th win of the season. Of those 36 shots, 12 were let loose from high-danger areas on the ice, according to NautralStatTrick.com.
That being said, the Panthers are confident they can solve him the next time around.
"He's a great goaltender," Duclair said. "You got to give him credit, but for ourselves, like I said, we have a lot of positives to take out of this game. We've got to keep shooting, keep putting pucks on net, and a lot of traffic helps, too. You've got to give credit to him, but we're already moving on to the next game and hopefully we can have a better outcome."