5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers Pick Up Point, Lose to Penguins in Shootout

This early in the season, the Panthers will take points any way they can get them.
Snapping out of the two-game point drought that followed their incredible 11-game point streak to start the season, the Panthers are leaving the Steel City with one crucial point in hand after losing to the Penguins by a score of 3-2 in a shootout at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.
Despite their mini slump, the Cats remain in first place in the Atlantic Division at 10-2-2.

"It was a great game," Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said. "That was a big point for us."
Opening up their scoring in their own barn, the Penguins jumped out to an early lead when Kris Letang skated just below the goal line before setting up Teddy Blueger for an uncontested one-timer in the low slot that flew straight into the back of the cage to make it a 1-0 game at 13:37.
Looking like a player well beyond his age, rookie Anton Lundell then helped even up the score for the Panthers soon after when he finessed his way through the neutral zone to set up a 2-on-1 rush with Frank Vatrano, who finished off the sequence with a goal to make it 1-1 at 16:55.
Despite the Panthers owning a 13-9 advantage in scoring chances in the second period, the Penguins netted the lone goal in the middle frame when Evan Rodrigues skated straight down the slot from the blue line on a breakaway and beat Bobrovsky to make it a 2-1 contest at 17:53.
Getting that goal back, Aleksander Barkov, who has tallied seven goals in his last six games, took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe, who was deftly dancing around the offensive zone with the puck, and ripped a shot past Tristan Jarry to make it a 2-2 game just 2:30 into the third period.
With 4:45 left in regulation, the Panthers appeared to take the lead when Verhaeghe set up Anthony Duclair with a nice pass for a goal on the doorstep, but the score was taken off the board after the Penguins challenged the play and it was eventually ruled offside by officials.
"It was just a little unfortunate, but I don't think it was deflating," Verhaeghe said of the overturned call. "In the third period we liked the way we were playing, and we got one back. We tied the game pretty late there. We liked the way were playing and just tried to keep it going."
From there, the game eventually went to overtime.
In the extra frame, both teams had their fair share of looks before the Panthers were sent to the power play after Jake Guentzel crashed into Bobrovsky and was whistled for interference. But even with 1:31 of a 4-on-3 advantage to work with, they couldn't find a goal before the buzzer.
Once in the shootout, Bryan Rust and Jeff Carter each scored to lift the Penguins to a 3-2 win.
"I thought in the third we really beared down, and got things deep and did the right things," Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. "We were rewarded [in the third]. We carried a lot of the play for parts of the game. Again, we've got some areas to clean up still."
With the win, the Penguins improved to 5-3-4.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday's loss in Pittsburgh…

1. VATRANO STRIKES

You knew Vatrano wasn't going to miss this one.
After Lundell chipped the puck around a defender in the neutral zone to create a 2-on-1 rush, Vatrano took a pass from the rookie and beat Jarry to make it a 1-1 contest in the first period.

"There were a couple other chances in the period, but they'll go in next time," Vatrano said.
Heating up in the goal-scoring department, Vatrano has now scored in two of his previous four games. Always a fan of setting the table, two of his three goals on the season have come in the first period. Against the Penguins, his four shots on goal trailed only Jonathan Huberdeau's five.

2. LUNDELL'S SWAGGER

As evidenced by his work on Vatrano's goal, Lundell is just oozing confidence right now.
But it wasn't just that goal that stood out tonight. There was his attempted skate-to-stick deke that ended up drawing a penalty late in the second period, and then in overtime he tried to split through a pair of defenders in order to free himself up for a chance at scoring the game-winner.
"For a young kid, he definitely does have a lot of swagger and self-confidence," said Brunette, who rewarded Lundell with an attempt in the shootout. "I thought he played really well. He's a really reliable player. Every game he gets better, and every play he gets better."
Held off the scoresheet in the first two games of his career, Lundell, the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, has now recorded seven points (three goals, four assists) in eight games since then.
Already a shorthanded stud, he also skated a team-high 4:06 on the penalty kill tonight.

3. BARKOV BURIES ANOTHER

Consistency thy name is Barkov.
Finding the back of the net at least once in five of his last six games, the superstar captain made sure the Cats would leave Pittsburgh with at least one point in their back pocket when he collected a very slick feed from Verhaeghe and buried the game-tying goal in the third period.
"Me and Barky and Duke obviously have some pretty good chemistry," Verhaeghe said.

With his third-period goal tonight, Barkov, who set the franchise record for goals with his 189th career score on Tuesday, extended his point streak to eight games. During that torrid stretch, he's notched seven goals and three assists to claim the team's scoring lead with 15 points.
Working on his campaign for a second Selke Trophy, he also had five takeaways tonight.

4. BOB IS BACK

After missing the last three games due to an injury, Bobrovsky looked sharp as ever tonight.
Going save-for-save in a goaltending battle with Jarry, who turned aside 36 of 38 shots, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner made 29 saves, including stopping all eight shots he saw on the PK.
Of those saves, 13 were high-danger, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
"Bob was great," Brunette said. "He's back to where he was before he got kind of banged up there a little bit. He definitely kept us in the game in those flurries. He was huge tonight."

Helping the Panthers earn at least one point in all eight of his appearances so far this season, Bobrovsky owns a 6-0-1 record with a 1.73 goals-against average and .946 save percentage.
"He's been tremendous all year," Verhaeghe said. "He made a couple huge saves to keep us in the game there. We have a ton of confidence in him back there, but we want to limit their grade-A [chances]. We don't him to have to make those big saves, but he's been unbelievable."

5. NEED MORE POWER

If there's one area the Panthers would like to be a bit more polished in, it's the power play.
Despite converting on 21.7% of their opportunities with the extra attacker this season, Brunette said he knows the unit can be not only more consistent, but even more lethal given its weapons.
Going 0-for-4 tonight, Florida's power play in overtime stuck out as a missed opportunity.
"It's a little bit out of sync or it's not quite as smooth," Brunette said of the man advantage. "It's been a little stagnant. We did some things in the first one tonight I liked, but it could be better."
That being said, even in their defeats the Panthers have shown signs of brilliance on offense.
"When we did the right things, we had opportunities," Brunette said. "We know we left some chances out there. Typically through the first part of the season we weren't really missing those ones. We're just in this little bit of a -- you can't call it a funk -- but maybe you're just not as sharp or things aren't going as easy as they were earlier in the year. When you get chances, success will follow. We'll figure things out."