Panthers Point to Missed Opportunities in Loss to Jets

HELSINKI -In the first game of their Global Series back-to-back, Finland native Patrik Laine scored a hat trick to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers in front of a sold-out crowd of 13,490 on Thursday night at Hartwall Arena.

As it has been in nearly every game this season, the Panthers had no trouble generating plenty of chances on offense, but simply couldn't bury enough of them. By the time the final horn had sounded, Florida held a huge advantage over the Jets in shot attempts (53-38), scoring chances (27-11) and high-danger scoring chances (10-4) at 5-on-5. Again, they had no victory to show for it.
"It's frustrating right now," said Panthers winger Nick Bjugstad, who recorded one assist. "A lot of tight games that we let slip away. Got to keep plugging away. That's 10 games in for us, but there's still a lot of season to go. We've got to try to keep the same mentality and start digging a little deeper. I think it's one or two plays that makes the difference."
In the end, the biggest difference came on special teams, where the Panthers sent Winnipeg to six power plays, including a pair of 5-on-3 opportunities. And although Florida went 1-for-5 with the man advantage, the Jets finished 2-for-6, with Laine scoring both goals from the left circle.
"We generated a ton of chances, much like our 5-on-5 game," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said of the special teams battle. "We didn't capitalize on them, obviously. On our PK, I thought we did some good things… You don't want to take a 5-on-3 against these guys."
The Panthers (2-5-3) will play the Jets again tomorrow before heading back to South Florida.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday's loss in Helsinki…

1. BARKOV AND SELANNE

Aleksander Barkov received a rousing ovation from his home crowd on Thursday night, as the Tampere, Finland native skated to center ice to partake in a ceremonial puck drop with Laine and Teemu "The Finnish Flash" Selanne, a Hall of Famer and one of his longtime hockey idols.

"He's probably the best Finnish player to ever play a game," Barkov said of Selanne. "To do that with him and Laine was awesome. Of course it's going to feel even better later, but right now of course you can't even think about anything else but losing the game."
Even in a losing effort, Barkov was spectacular against the Jets, showing many why he's widely considered to be one of a handful of heirs to Selanne's stardom in the world of Finnish hockey. A workhorse and defensive wizard, the 23-year-old center notched one assist and four shots on goal while skating 24:34 against Winnipeg - the most ice time of any forward on either team.
"I think overall as a team we played good in their zone," Barkov said of the game. "We got a lot of chances, even empty nets. We just need to put the puck in. Of course, we took too many penalties and they got two 5-on-3. As a team, you don't want to give up opportunities on the power play."

2. TILTED ICE THROUGH 20

There was no shortage of shots in the first period on Thursday night.
The Panthers peppered goaltender Connor Hellebuyck early and often throughout the first 20 minutes of play, pelting the Vezina Trophy finalist with eight shots through the first five minutes of action. Florida finished the period with an advantage in shots (18-14) and attempts (36-23).
"It's tough," Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle said of Florida's inability to cash in on what felt like a period titled in their favor. "When you play against a guy like [Hellebuyck] you're not going to score four or five, so when you get your chances you've really got to bury them."
But despite that hard work and sustained pressure, it was Winnipeg that carried a lead into the first intermission. Following a turnover in the defensive zone, Mathieu Perreault slammed home a rebound of a Bryan Little shot to break the ice and put the Jets up 1-0 at 18:34 of the period.
"I liked our start," Boughner said. "We generated a lot of chances offensively. Being down 1-0 coming out of the first period was sort of a little unjust. I think, again, it's the same old thing: we've got to capitalize on our chances. We had enough chances to win this hockey game."

3. YANDLE BLASTS ONE

In the second period, the Panthers took advantage of one of those chances.
Already playing 4-on-4, the Panthers were sent to a rare 4-on-3 power play early in the second frame after MacKenzie Weegar drew a tripping penalty on Jacob Trouba less than five minutes into the second frame. With that sort of opportunity, the Cats only took 15 seconds to capitalize.
Locked and loaded near the high slot, Yandle took a feed from Barkov and blasted a one-timer past Hellebuyck to make it a 1-1 game at 4:18. With the goal, the 32-year-old saw his point total climb to 10 points, which is good enough for ninth (tied) in the NHL by a defenseman.

Yandle is also now tied with Keith Ballard (2008-09) for the most points by a blueliner through the first 10 games of a season in franchise history.

4. MORE FOR MIKE

With a secondary assist on Yandle's goal, Mike Hoffman extended his point streak to a team-high eight games.
"I'm starting to find my groove a little bit," Hoffman said after Thursday's morning skate. "It takes a little time to adjust to a new team and a new system, getting your comfort level where it needs to be. I feel like I've just got myself in a good routine on game days. I'm also not thinking too much on the ice anymore.
"The first few games with a new team, you're thinking a lot when you're on the ice. Are you in the right place? Are you doing what the coaches want you to do? If you're thinking like that, you're usually reacting a second or two too late. This league is too fast to be doing that. You just have to be reacting to plays as opposed to thinking. I think that's been the biggest difference for me."
A gifted shooter, Hoffman leads Florida with 38 shots on goal after registering 14 over his last two games, including six against the Jets on Thursday. He also now leads the team with four points and two goals on the power play this year, which is a very good sign moving forward.

5. DADONOV'S DIALED IN

After a Laine goal on the power play gave the Jets a 2-1 lead and the momentum, Evgenii Dadonov got it all right back for the Panthers less than three minutes later, re-directing a pass from Mike Matheson past Hellebuyck to tie the game at 2 with 2:16 left in the second period.

"I think we played pretty good," Dadonov said of the game. "We just need to score more goals. We got so many chances tonight. The goalie played good or we're unlucky, I don't know. We have to work, go through it, break it."
Dadonov, 29, now leads the Panthers in points (11) and is tied for the lead in goals (5).