RECAP: Panthers 3, Blues 2

ST. LOUIS – Nothing like a little drama to end a road trip.

With 11.8 seconds left in regulation, Matthew Tkachuk tipped in a shot from Sam Reinhart to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Thursday.

Helping the Panthers improve to 33-20-3, Tkachuk had a hand in all three goals for the Panthers, scoring twice and assisting on one more.

“He’s a driver,” Reinhart said of Tkachuk’s big game. “He’s the heartbeat when he’s going like that. It seems like when the moment gets bigger, he rises to the occasion.”

With some bad blood remaining from their last matchup in December, Sam Bennett and Jake Neighbours dropped the gloves right off the opening faceoff to kick off the matchup.

Opening the scoring for St. Louis, Zack Bolduc pounced on his own rebound in the slot and swiftly backhanded the puck past Spencer Knight to make it 1-0 at 3:31 of the first period.

Making an immediate impact in his return to the lineup after missing the last three games due to an illness, Mackie Samoskevich evened the score for the Panthers when Bennett fired a shot off the rookie’s leg and through Joel Hofer’s five-hole to make it 1-1 at 7:09.

On the power play, Tkachuk extended his goal streak to five games and put the Panthers on top when he tipped in a point shot from Aaron Ekblad to make it 2-1 at 16:54.

Terrorizing his hometown, Tkachuk has notched 28 points in 20 career games vs. St. Louis.

“He’s on a roll,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Hopefully he can keep that going.”

Early in the second period, the Panthers lost Samoskevich to an upper-body injury.

Not returning, the talented is rookie is currently considered day to day.

“Not too, too bad,” Maurice said of the injury.

Making the most out of their own trip to the power play, the Blues pulled even when Oskar Sundqvist set up shop in the slot and tipped in a point shot to make it 2-2 at 5:18.

Keeping the game tied heading into the second intermission, Knight came up in the clutch with a big stop in a 1-on-1 battle with Dylan Holloway.

Finishing with 20 saves, Knight owns a 5-2-0 record over his last seven starts.

“What I try to do in those situations is be ready – be ready for anything,” Knight said. “I play the puck, try to get clean exits, try to get it on their tape and just be ready. This game is a perfect example of just sticking with it all the way until the end.”

Overall, the third period was an absolute grinder.

The Panthers mustered eight shots on goal while surrendering just three to the Blues.

Following a faceoff win in the neutral zone in the final minute of regulation, the Panthers went on the offensive for one last push to avoid overtime. Taking a pass from Aleksander Barkov, Reinhart fired a shot on net that was tipped in by Tkachuk to lock in the 3-2 win.

After a full game of back-and-forth hockey, it all came down to a goal with just 11.8 seconds left.

“All 60 minutes is what it took,” Knight said. “It was a good team win.”

THEY SAID IT

“It’s experience. The more you do it, the more comfortable you are, obviously. Our system promotes games like this. You don’t need to be feeling your best to be in the right spot at the right time.” – Sam Reinhart

“Everybody has the exact same feeling [about the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off]. It’s kind of the light at the end of the tunnel, maybe for 12 of our guys and the rest have to play some hockey. This is the last almost aberration to our season.” – Paul Maurice

CATS STATS

- Matthew Tkachuk recorded his third straight 20-goal season as a Panther.

- The Panthers have won four of their last five games.

- Aleksander Barkov has logged multiple points in three of his last four games.

- Anton Lundell went 10-for-14 (71.4%) in the faceoff circle.

- Aaron Ekblad and Eetu Luostarinen each had four hits.

- Niko Mikkola blocked a team-high three shots on goal.

- The Panthers led 29-14 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

- Spencer Knight made three high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Just one game left until the 4 Nations Face-Off!

In their final battle before the break, the Panthers will return home to host the Ottawa Senators for another “Tkachuk Bowl” at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.