RECAP: Penguins 5, Panthers 2

PITTSBURGH – The Florda Panthers are leaving the Steel City empty handed after suffering a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

After securing a 9-4 win on Saturday, the Penguins completed a sweep of the weekend back-to-back.

“Better than it was yesterday,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Got behind it a little bit, but I don’t think we’d given a whole lot to get behind in that manner. We had some good penalty kills; had some pretty good action on the power play, scored a goal. That’d be about it.”

Despite the playoffs being out of reach, the injury-plagued Panthers plan to finish as strong as they can.

“We’ve been together as a group for so long, so to be missing big pieces [due to injuries] is tough,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said. “But we’re just feeding on the energy of all the new guys. Even if the games don’t mean too much, you just think of how grateful you are to play in the NHL. You think back as a kid, and to be playing against the Penguins is a dream.”

Keeping the Penguins off the board during the first half of the first period, the Panthers held their ground over the course of two penalty kills. Even during a season full of adversity, the penalty kill has been consistent for Florida, entering this afternoon's game 10^th in the NHL at 81.1%.

Shortly after that second penalty kill, however, the Penguins managed to break the ice when Connor Dewar met Daniil Tarasov outside of his crease and poked the puck loose. Off that turnover, Elmer Soderblom fired the puck into the empty cage to make it 1-0 at 11:00.

After dishing out an assist in his first game back from injury on Saturday, Cole Schwindt evened the score for the Panthers when he took a no-look pass from Vinnie Hinostroza and beat Arturs Silovs with a laser of a snap shot from the left circle to make it 1-1 at 16:15.

“We’re going to move him up a bit, get him a little more ice time,” Maurice said of the plan for the young center down the home stretch. “It’s tough coming in on a back-to-back, for sure. But he’s moving well. We’re going to try to get him as much of an opportunity to feel good.”

Just 35 seconds later, a snipe from Sidney Crosby put Pittsburgh back up 2-1 at 16:50.

At 18:20, Matthew Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspood. Earning a power play after the dust had settled, Rickard Rakell sent a wicked one-timer from the high slot into the twine to extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-1 at 19:12.

In the second period, the penalty kill helped keep the Panthers within striking distance. With play at 4-on-4, a double-minor penalty for high-sticking led to the Penguins having 22 seconds of a 4-on-3 advantage, followed by 3:38 of a traditional 5-on-4 power play.

Not giving up an inch, the Panthers escaped the sequence unscathed.  

Late in the second period, Rakell netted his second goal of the game when he whacked a bouncing puck in the slot past Tarasov to make it 4-1 at 18:08. With the primary assist, Evgeni Malkin earned his seventh point against Florida this season, the most by any skater in the NHL.

After two periods, the Panthers led 12-9 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

Padding the lead for Pittsburgh in the third period, Bryan Rust skated in on Tarasov all alone before lifting a backhand on net that squeaked across the goal line to make it 5-1 at 3:48.

Cutting into the deficit for the Panthers, Verhaeghe beat Silovs with a sizzling shot through traffic on the power play to make it 5-2 with his 24^th goal of the campaign at 14:15.

“They were better than us and beat us for a reason,” Verhaeghe said. “They were just better than us throughout the whole game and the last two nights. They’re a good team and it’s tough to play them. Obviously, we’ve got to play better.”

THEY SAID IT

“We skated a little bit better and we moved the puck a little bit better. We were trying to do things standing still last game, and that was a real challenge for us. Our D-zone was considerably better.” – Paul Maurice

“A lot of new energy in the room. All the guys are playing big minutes in roles they haven’t been in. They’re bringing a lot of energy to the group and keeping things light.” – Carter Verhaeghe

CATS STATS

- The Panthers led 19-11 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

- Nolan Foot recorded four hits.

- Seth Jones saw a team-high 24:50 of ice time.

- The Penguins earned a sweep of the season series with the Panthers.

- Florida led 13-2 in shot attempts when Mackie Samoskevich was deployed at 5-on-5.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will now head north of the border for a matchup with the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch in South Florida, click HERE.