5 Takeaways: Ritchie's Late Goal Lifts Ducks Past Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -The Florida Panthers saw their six-game point streak at home come to an end in a 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night at BB&T Center.
With the game feeling destined for overtime late in the third period, the Panthers let at least one point in the standings slip through their fingers when Nick Ritchie scored the go-ahead goal off a wrist shot from the slot to put the Ducks on top 3-2 with 1:28 remaining in regulation.

"It is frustrating," Panthers winger Jonathan Huberdeau said. "I think this is the kind of game where we've got to at least get a point. We can't get scored on late like that. We've got to battle through it for a full 60 [minutes]. It's tough. Like I said in the morning, we need these points right now. It's tough to lose the game at the end like that."
After Josh Manson put the Ducks up 1-0 just 15 seconds into the first period, the Panthers went on to dominate play for the rest of the game, finishing with a season-high 44 shots on goal and holding big advantages in both shot attempts (48-38) and scoring chances (20-13) at 5-on-5.
The Panthers (9-10-4) will host Atlantic Division-leading Buffalo on Friday.
"The first shot of the night went in our net on a tough bounce," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "I thought the third period was fairly even, back and forth. We didn't give a lot. We couldn't find the third goal. We haven't been good at winning these 2-1 or 3-2 hockey games right now."
Here are five takeaways from Wednesday's loss in Sunrise…

1. #BARKY4SELKE

Aleksander Barkov is a penalty-drawing machine.
Tripped by Ryan Getzlaf at 16:17 of the first period, Barkov picked up his league-leading 19th drawn penalty of the season. How incredible is that total? Well, it's not only four more than the next highest skater in the NHL, but also an eye-popping 10 more than any of his teammates.
At 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, Barkov excels at using his size to shield the puck, which forces the opposition to risk taking penalties in order to steal it from him. But what's even more impressive than his ability to draw penalties is the fact that the 23-year-old center has no PIMS of his own.
An early-season favorite for the Selke Trophy, Barkov also leads the league with 41 takeaways, a wild statistic given that he continues to remain penalty-free. Entering the night as the league's leader in average ice time among forwards, he skated 18:44 against Anaheim.
In terms of offense, Barkov ranks third on the Panthers in goals (8) and fourth in points (tied-21).

2. EKBLAD GOES BAR DOWN

When Ekblad starts creeping down from the blue line, you know a big shot is coming.
With the Panthers trailing 1-0 early in the second period, Ekblad made his way towards the net, slapping his stick on the ice to get Barkov's attention. From behind the net, Barkov then sent a pass to Ekblad, who fired a shot from the right circle that went bar down to make it 1-1 at 3:01.

Fresh off scoring a career-high 16 goals during the 2017-18 campaign, Ekblad has already notched five in 23 games this season, with all of them coming over the last nine contests. A major minutes eater on the blue line, he leads the team's defenseman in total ice time (520:14).
"The flood gates have kind of opened a little bit," Ekblad said of his recent scoring surge.

3. DADONOV HITS DOUBLE DIGITS

Evgenii Dadonov scored his 10th goal of the season on Wednesday night, beating goaltender John Gibson with a re-direction on the power play that put the Panthers up 2-1 at 9:23 of the second period. With the goal, Dadonov now sits tied for second place on Florida in points (23).

Dadonov's goal marked the 13th time in 14 games that Florida has lit the lamp with the man advantage. Dating back to Nov. 1, they own the second-best unit in the NHL, going 17-for-49 (35.1 percent) during that span. With the secondary assist on the goal, Keith Yandle picked up his team-leading 14th power play point, which is currently tied for the most in the league.
"For us to win, we've got to find ways to score on the power play," Yandle said.

4. HUBERDEAU HEATING UP

Jonathan Huberdeau keeps piling up the points.
After posting a game-high three points against New Jersey on Monday, the 25-year-old winger was at it again on Wednesday night, registering two assists against Anaheim to push his point total to a team-leading 24 - the first time this season he's been atop the team's scoring chart.
Huberdeau's 19 assists lead the Panthers and are tied for the 17th-most in the NHL. Of those 19, 13 have been primary, including his pass that set up Dadonov's goal on the power play.
Since Nov. 24, Huberdeau leads the league with seven points (one goal, six assists) in three games.

5. GIBSON STANDS TALL

The Panthers fired 44 shots at Gibson, but only two managed to get through.
Entering the night with a .896 save percentage in four career starts against Florida, the 25-year-old netminder pieced together his best statistical start ever against the Panthers on Wednesday night and is without a doubt the main reason the Ducks are leaving Sunrise with two points.
"He's a good goalie," Huberdeau said. "We had a lot of chances, a lot of shots. We've got to find a way to put some in the net. Right now, we need points. It's not acceptable to lose that one."
Gibson has now won three of his last four starts.