5 TAKEAWAYS: Stars 6, Panthers 4

SUNRISE, Fla. -- After falling behind 4-0 in the first period, the Florida Panthers nearly clawed all the way back in an eventual 6-4 loss to the Dallas Stars at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
With the loss, Florida now sits at 9-7-1 on the season.
"We haven't had a night like that in the first period," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "When that first period's done, you don't have a lot of options, right? It's hard to do what our] team did, what we did tonight, to slowly start to grind and get stronger and start to push back."
For a quick recap of the game, click
[HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. BENNY STEPS UP

With Aleksander Barkov out due to a non-COVID illness, Sam Bennett stepped up in a big way.
Filling in as the top-line center for the Panthers, the hard-nosed forward matched a career-high with three assists against the Stars. In addition to those helpers -- two of which were primary -- he also notched two hits, one blocked shot and won 50% of his faceoffs over 19:14 of ice time.
At 5-on-5, the Panthers led 16-6 in shots on goal when Bennett was on the ice.

"I felt good," Bennett said. "There was definitely a lot of ice available tonight. I was just trying to do as much as I can to fill in. Obviously Barky's a huge part of our team. He really generates our offense. It's a big hole when he's out, but I thought, for the most part, the guys did a good job."
Fifth on the Panthers in scoring with 13 points (five goals, eight assists), Bennett has seen a surge in production since the calendar flipped to November. Over his last five contests, he's posted three multi-point performances. In that stretch, he's tallied four goals and four assists.
"Sammy's a fantastic player," Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. "He's always ready to step up into a bigger role. He plays a strong, hard game. He hits, he scores goals, and he does a great job defensively. You get the full package from him."
By taking the ice against Dallas, Bennett also skated in his 500th game in the NHL.
"I still feel like a young kid in this league," Bennett said. "It's pretty crazy how fast things go."

2. TKACHUK'S BIG GAME

We've got out first Gordie Howe hat trick of the season.
With a goal and an assist already in his back pocket, Matthew Tkachuk completed the trifecta when he dropped the gloves with former Panther Mason Marchment with 2:33 left in regulation.
An absolute force on the ice, the Panthers led 22-12 in shot attempts and 14-9 in scoring chances over the 14:45 of ice time that Tkachuk was deployed against Dallas at 5-on-5.

"What makes Matthew unique is that he can do all parts of the game," Maurice said. "He gets physically wound up and mentally wound up in the games. He can make great plays, but he's an intense young man. That's a great guy to have in your room."
Hitting the ground running during his first season in South Florida, Tkachuk has cracked the scoresheet in 12 of 15 games. Leading the Panthers in scoring, he's notched 22 points (six goals, 16) in that span, including a trio of three-point performances in his last seven games.
"It's unbelievable how quick I've been able to fit in with this group," Tkachuk said.

3. STARTING TO CHARGE

Don't look now, but "The Reino" is starting to charge.
Finding the back of the net for the second straight game, Sam Reinhart dug his skates in on top of the crease on the power play and deflected a point shot from Ekblad into the cage to cut the deficit to 5-3 at 18:27 of the second period.

Over his last five games, Reinhart has scored four goals.
Looking at the underlying numbers, it's clear that it was only a matter of time until Reinhart got on a scoring run like this. Getting a wealth of chances but not a lot of luck earlier in the season, he ranks third on the Panthers with 7.73 expected goals, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
As time goes on, look for expected goals to continue turning into actual goals for No. 13.

4. POWER PLAY STREAKING

Speaking of things trending in the right direction, let's talk about the power play.
Going 2-for-4 with the extra attacker against the Stars, the Panthers picked up a goal on the power play for the fifth straight game. During that run of success, they've converted on seven of their 17 opportunities, which is good enough for an exceptional 41.2% rate of success.
"It's always good to score on the power play," Ekblad said. "To get that going is going to help us in the future. It's important that special teams do a good job, and I thought we did alright tonight."
Up to 18.2% on the season, the underlying numbers also hinted that the Panthers, like Reinhart, were due for a breakout on the power play. Despite scoring just 12 goals thus far, they rank second in the NHL with 18.8 expected goals on the man advantage, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
During this current five-game run, both of Florida's units have been chipping in as 10 different players have registered at least one point on the power play. Brandon Montour and Carter Verhaeghe lead the way with four points each, while Reinhart is second with three points.

5. SWAGGY STILL GOING

It's still very early, but Verhaeghe is making a strong case for a spot at the All-Star Game.
By posting a goal and an assist against the Stars, the speedy sniper they call Swaggy notched his six multi-point performance in his last nine games. On one of the best runs of his career, he's racked up 14 points during that nine-game stretch, including lighting the lamp nine times.
As it stands now, his 11 goals lead the team and are tied for fifth-most in the NHL.

When trying to find the keys to his scoring surge, there are a few things you can look at, including the fact he plays on the top line, he's starting to get some more time on the power play, and in general he's likely more confident than ever after posting career-high numbers last season. But, overall, it likely just comes down to him shooting more.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, his 10.04 shots per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 are nearly two more than his previous career high.
"The coach keeps telling me I'm a shooter, so I'm just trying to shoot the puck," Verhaeghe said.