RECAP: Penguins 5, Panthers 3

SUNRISE, Fla. – Despite making good progress as they work through some early-season adjustments, the Florida Panthers didn’t come away with any points in a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.

In defeat, the Panthers led 37-16 in shots on goal and 39-17 in scoring chances.

“They just seemed to capitalize on their opportunities,” said forward Brad Marchand, who led the Panthers with two goals. “We controlled from after the first period on. We really controlled that game. It just seemed like every time we pushed, they’d make one play.”

On the power play, the Penguins opened the scoring when ageless wonder Sidney Crosby buried a one-timer from the left circle to make it 1-0 at 6:24 of the first period. In the midst of his 21^st season in the NHL, he’s scored 32 goals in 54 career games against the Panthers.

With offense hard to come by at both ends, there were only 12 combined shots in the first period.

Pouncing on a loose puck after a point shot went off a pile of bodies in front of Florida’s net, Rickard Rakell put the Penguins on top 2-0 at 8:26 of the second period when he got just enough of his stick blade on the wayward rubber to send it bouncing past Sergei Bobrovsky.

Cutting into the deficit for the Panthers, Marchand posted up next to the net and directed a feed from Mackie Samoskevich past Tristan Jarry to make it 2-1 at 8:26. Producing at better than a point-per-game pace, Marchand has at least one point in seven of nine games so far.

“He always brings it every night,” linemate Eetu Luostarinen said of Marchand. “He’s fast. He creates a lot for himself. He’s been really good for us.”

Despite the Panthers gaining some noticeable momentum from that goal, the Penguins still managed to regain their two-goal cushion when Ben Kindel finished off a nifty passing play by blasting a one-timer into the back of the cage from the right circle to make it 3-1 at 15:24.

Ramping up their attack, the Panthers led 15-5 in scoring chances in the middle frame.

Back on the power play early in the third period, the Panthers briefly made it a one-goal game when Sam Reinhart roofed a shot over Jarry’s shoulder to make it 3-2 at 2:24. But just over two minutes later, Connor Dewar responded for the Penguins to make it 4-2 at 4:49.

Netting his second goal of the game, Marchand took a pass from Eetu Luostarinen and beat Jarry with a backhand from the slot to make it 4-3 at 11:06. Earning a power play soon after, Crosby lit the lamp again with the extra attacker, extending Pittsburgh’s lead to 5-3 at 11:49.

After pulling Bobrovsky for a 6-on-5 advantage with 3:42 left in regulation, the Panthers continued to pepper Pittsburgh’s net with shots, but couldn’t get anything past Jarry, who matched his season high with 34 to lock in the win for the Penguins.

Despite the loss, the Panthers believe they took a step forward.

“I think the first half of the game, we looked like we’ve looked for a while,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “In the back half of the game, we got to the right pace. There’s a little bit of freedom. I think we’ve been really tight with the puck and turned pucks over that we normally don’t or don’t expect that we should. We just got to a level of intensity with the puck and looked the way we’re supposed to look.”

THEY SAID IT

“I thought we had a really good game, especially from the first period on.” – Brad Marchand

“I think we got a lot of shots. We just have to be right in front of the goalie to make it harder for him. It’s been a lot of one-goal games. We just have to find a way to win those games.” – Eetu Luostarinen

CATS STATS

- The Panthers led 18-4 in shots on goal in the third period.

- Anton Lundell set a new career high with 15 faceoff wins.

- Eetu Luostarinen blocked a team-high four shots.

- Jonah Gadjovich logged a team-high four hits.

- Florida registered 18 high-danger shot attempts, per NaturalStatTrick.com

- Brad Marchand registered this third multi-point game of the season.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Welcoming one of the top teams in the Western Conference to Sunrise, the Panthers will host the Vegas Golden Knights at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.