5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers Rally in 3rd to Take Down Rangers

SUNRISE, Fla. - Playing their first game in nearly two weeks, the Panthers scored three goals in the third period to come from behind and lock down a 4-3 win over the Rangers at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday.
"It was a very competitive game," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "Both teams played really hard. I don't know how the sharp the play was, but what impressed me was the compete and the will that our group had all game. Even when we were down in the third, we just kept coming."
With the win, the Panthers improved to 15-3-0 at home and 19-7-4 overall this season.

"It's definitely a big win for us," said Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 30 saves to improve his record to 13-3-2. "It's home ice. We've been down a couple of games. All of us had a break and got refreshed and started over. It's a big two points for us, two points against a really good team."
Opening the scoring for the Rangers, Artemi Panarin collected a long stretch pass from Ryan Strome, unleashed a quick between-the-legs deke to create space in a 1-on-1 battle with a defender and then slid the puck just under Bobrovsky's pads to break the ice and make it 1-0 at 11:08 of the first period.
In the second period, rookie Anton Lundell evened things up for the Panthers when, following a shot from Gustav Forsling, he hammered a rebound past Igor Shesterkin to bring the game to 1-1 at 5:09.
Picking up his second point of the game, Panarin then helped put the Rangers back on top when, after swiping the puck from a Panthers defender in the offensive zone, he sent a pinpoint pass through the slot to a driving Mika Zibanejad for a surefire goal from the right side of the cage to make it 2-1 at 12:43.
But in the third period, the "Comeback Cats" did what they do best.
After Mackenzie Weegar buried a shot from the high slot to make it 2-2 at 5:56, Carter Verhaeghe then wired a shot through Shesterkin's five-hole from beyond the left circle to give Florida a 3-2 lead at 10:31.
In between those two goals, Bobrovsky made a massive save to keep momentum in Florida's favor.

Putting the game out of reach soon after, Anthony Duclair made it 4-2 when, after blocking a shot in the defensive zone, he flew right down the ice, took a pass from Sam Bennett and scored top-shelf at 14:40.
"We never want to get too high or too low," Duclair said of the Panthers, who can never be counted out of any game they're in. "We just want to keep skating and playing our game. We know things will open up. We've got way too much talent, way too much speed and skill, to get shut down the whole game."
Pulling their goaltender in favor of the extra attacker, Chris Kreider pounced on a rebound and scored to make it 4-3 with 45 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Panthers would hold on to secure the win.
Finishing strong, the Cats led 22-14 in shot attempts and 3-1 in goals in the final frame.
"In the third period, we dug deeper," Brunette said of the team's late push. "I liked our third a lot. I thought he came wave after wave, and Bob made some huge saves to keep us in it. We found a way."
With little time to rest, the Panthers will return to the ice to host the rival Lightning on Thursday.
"We just have such a resilient group," Weegar said. "It's the belief."
Here are five takeaways from Wednesday's win in Sunrise…

1. LUNDELL LIGHTS THE LAMP

Lundell's offensive persistence paid off tonight.
Potting the first post-pause goal for the Panthers, the rookie center curled back into the slot before ripping a juicy rebound into the back of the twine to make it a 1-1 game early in the second period.

"We had a good offensive shift at the start," Lundell said. "We got good pressure. We just kept shooting the puck. I got a pretty good bounce right in front of the net. A great feeling to put the puck in the net."
Just 26 games into his NHL career, Lundell, the 12th overall pick in the 2020 draft, has amassed 13 points (six goals, seven assists). Already looking like a seasoned veteran in the defensive zone, the 20-year-old also entered tonight's game leading the league's rookies in both takeaways (28) and faceoff wins (159).
Against the Rangers, he logged 16:39 of ice time, including 2:20 on the penalty kill.

2. WEEGAR GETS ONE

You could feel the energy all the way up in the press box after this one.
Netting his first goal of the season, Weegar took a pass from Eetu Luostarinen and fired a shot from the high slot through traffic and past Shesterkin to make it a 2-2 game early in the third period.

"It was definitely a relieving moment, and obviously it came at a good time in that third period when we needed a big goal," Weegar said. "I'm happy that I could step up and get that first one this season."
Piling up points despite having to wait a bit for his first goal, Weegar is tied for third on the Panthers in assists (15) and also ranks first in takeaways (43) and second in hits (81). In addition to lighting the lamp, he also notched four shots, four hits, three blocks and two takeaways over 25:05 against the Rangers.
"He's been such an important cog here for our group," Brunette said. "The shot attempts and his compete and his battle-level, he does so many good things for us. He epitomizes the way we want to play. It was nice to finally see him get rewarded. He had some really good looks in the second period."

3. SWAGGY'S SNIPE

This isn't the first time we've seen "Swaggy" score a goal from this area on the ice this season.
Zooming up the left side of the ice after taking a pass from Radko Gudas, Verhaeghe threaded a shot from behind the circle through Shesterkin's five-hole to put the Panthers up 3-2 in the third period.

"We have a great team," Verhaeghe said. "If we're down by a goal going into the third, no one's ever worried in the room. We have great leaders. We pulled through. We're kind of a comeback team."
Tied for third on the Panthers in scoring with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists), Verhaeghe has produced at a point-per-game clip over his past seven games, registering one goal and six assists during that span.

4. DUCLAIR DOES IT ALL

There was so much to like on this play.
After blocking a shot in the defensive zone to send the action the other way, Duclair skated down the ice, took a pass from Bennett and buried a top-shelf snipe to put the Cats up 4-2 in the third period.
Showing great mental fortitude, the goal came after he'd come up short earlier in the game.

"Those things linger, and sometimes you get frustrated," Brunette said of Duclair's ability to stick with it. "It was a really good sign that he dug in a little deeper. It was a huge block, and he scored a huge goal for us. I was proud of him.
"Sometimes with Duke, he's a bit of an emotional guy, so sometimes when he misses a chance like that he's so hard on himself that he beats himself up. It was really good to see him come back out, put his body on the line for the group and score that big goal. I'm ecstatic for him."
Terrorizing opposing goaltenders this season, Duclair has produced 18 points and is now tied for first on the Panthers with 10 goals despite being limited to just 22 games. Particularly lethal with a rowdy crowd cheering him on, eight of those goals have been scored under the bright lights at FLA Live Arena.

5. MARCHMENT MAKES AN IMPACT

While several players returned to action tonight, no one had been out longer than Marchment.
Lacing up his skates for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury during a game against, oddly enough, the Rangers back on Nov. 8, the feisty forward had a very noticeable impact on the ice in his return this evening, recording an assist, two shots on goal, four hits and two takeaways over 12:23 of ice time.
Over the 11:52 he was deployed at 5-on-5 against New York, the Cats led 6-3 in scoring chances.
Seemingly picking up right where he'd left off, Marchment had been playing arguably the best hockey of his career prior to his injury. Building off an impressive two-goal showing in last year's playoffs against the Lightning, he opened this season by racking up seven points (one goal, six assists) in 11 contests.