5 Takeaways: Panthers Offense Explodes in 7-2 Rout of Sens
Colton Sceviour, Keith Yandle, Evgenii Dadonov, Jared McCann, Frank Vatrano, Nick Bjugstad and Jamie McGinn all scored for the Panthers, who moved within one point of New Jersey for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Florida (37-27-7) has a game in hand on the Devils, who play tonight in San Jose.
"Nice to get seven different scorers and spread it out throughout the lineup," Panthers coach Bob Boughner. "Not too many games we've had this year where we can relax a little bit in the third period and roll our bench… It was a perfect game for us."
The seven goals - the fourth time this season the Panthers have scored at least that many - were more than enough for backup goaltender James Reimer, who stopped 33 of 35 shots a night after starter Roberto Luongo shut out Montreal.
Reimer has allowed just three goals over his last three starts (3-0-0).
"It's every game, between both of these goalies," Bjugstad said "They make big saves at key points in the game that we definitely thrive off of. A lot of times it goes the other way and we end up scoring. "I can't say enough about our goaltending his year. That definitely helps when you've got both of them rolling. It makes everyone confident. It doesn't matter which one's in net."
Luongo is expected to start Thursday's matchup in Columbus.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's win in Ottawa…
1. SCEVIOUR STRIKES FIRST
Sceviour gave the Panthers an early lead on Tuesday night, breaking the ice thanks to a rather fortuitous bounce. After a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Mark Pysyk sent a shot towards the net from just below the blue line, which then bounced off Sceviour and into the to net to put Florida on top 1-0 at 2:36 of the first period.
The goal was Sceviour's ninth of the season, matching his total from last season in 15 fewer games. Although he excels at being a penalty-kill specialist -- ranking fourth on the Panthers in both shorthanded minutes (157:41) and points (4) - Sceviour has been steadily producing in all areas, leading Florida's fourth-liners with 18 points (9-9-18) this season.
For the Panthers, scoring first has been key not only during their push back into the playoff picture, but rather all season long. With a win against the Senators, Florida improved to 28-10-2 when lighting the lamp first - with those 28 wins being tied for ninth in the NHL.
"If you have a good start, score a couple goals, get a good feeling about the game and just keep going the same way, of course it helps a lot," said Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, who finished the game with two assists. "The last two or three months we've been playing pretty well and the way we want to play."
2. YANDLE ANSWERS
The offense continues to flow from the blue line for the Panthers, as Yandle quickly put the Panthers back on top after a flukey goal made it a 1-1 game just past the midway point of the first period. Skating up the ice on a 2-on-1 break with Denis Malgin, Yandle kept the puck for himself, beating Craig Anderson with a wicked wrist shot to put the Panthers back up 2-1 with 4:04 left in the first.
The NHL's active ironman, Yandle - who played in his 704th consecutive game on Tuesday night - has been nothing short of spectacular in his second season with the Panthers, leading the team's defensemen in points (49) and assists (42), while also leading the club in total ice time (1742:37).
With three more points from the blue line against Ottawa, the Panthers moved into first place in points by defensemen since the all-star break with 69. Florida also ranks fourth in the league in goals by defensemen this season, with Aaron Ekblad (15), Mike Matheson (10) and Yandle (7) doing the most damage.
"We put a lot of pressure on Barky and Troch, their lines to carry our offense and they do a great job of it," said Yandle, who needs one more point to hit the 50-point mark for the third time in his career. "It's kind of good for a night or two where [the defense] can almost give them a night off. They're obviously always great, but it's nice to get some secondary contributions."
3. EVGENII NETS 23
Dadonov scored his 23rd goal of the season on Tuesday night, beating Anderson with what proved to be the eventual game-winning goal thanks to a beautiful feed from Barkov and some nice work along by the boards by Bjugstad.
The goal - Dadonov's team-leading 13th since the All-Star break - came just 2:15 into the second period and put the Panthers up 3-1. The 29-year-old winger also added an assist later in the game to secure his eighth multi-point performance in the last 14 games and his 20th of the season overall.
In the last 14 games, Dadonov has tallied 19 points (8-11-19) and a team-leading eight goals. His 56 points (23-33-56) rank fourth on the Panthers. If he can notch just four more points down the stretch, he would give Florida its first-ever season with four different 60-point scorers.
4. PULLING AWAY IN THE SECOND
In one of their best 20-minute performances of the season, Dadonov's early goal proved to be a spark that ignited a scoring explosion for the Panthers during an unforgettable second period.
After a breakaway goal from Jared McCann put the Panthers up 4-1 and chased Anderson from the game, things only got worse from there for the Senators, as Frank Vatrano and Bjugstad lit the lamp less than a minute apart to give Florida a 6-2 lead heading into the final period.
The outstanding frame marked just the third time this season that the Panthers have scored four goals in period and the first since a 4-3 win over Vancouver on Feb. 14.
"It was a good entire game," said Bjugstad, who set a new career high with 45 points. "We played our systems right and we played hard. When you've got everyone rolling like that, it makes it hard on the other team. If we continue to focus on what we do well, and we continue to execute, it's going to be a fun run here."
5. THIRD LINE TIME
The Panthers had seven different players light the lamp on Tuesday night, but three of them came from the team's newly-crafted third line of Jamie McGinn, McCann and Vatrano.
McCann and Vatrano were each a part of the team's high-scoring second period, while McGinn added an insurance goal in the third period, beating backup Mike Condon with backhand shot that put Florida up 7-2 with 7:52 left in regulation.
Vatrano and McCann each picked up an assist on McGinn's goal, resulting in all three players finishing the night with multi-point games. The game's second star, McCann ended with a career-high three points (1-2-3).
"Those three guys tonight had a big game," Boughner said. "They've been doing a lot of little things throughout the night that they had success with. It's good to see and that's what we're going to need coming down the stretch here and trying to get a playoff spot. We're going to need to roll our bench and have four lines working."
