Three takeaways: Lundell shines, Lomberg-Cousins combo dominant in Florida win over Kraken
Paul Maurice made some moves with his forward lines that paid off nicely on Saturday against Seattle
It wasn’t pretty, but the Florida Panthers picked up a key win in front of a big Saturday crowd at Amerant Bank Arena.
Florida improved to 4-3-0 on the season after wrapping up its four-game homestand with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
The visitors jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Florida despite the Panthers logging the majority of the shots on goal through the first 40 minutes.
Florida responded quickly though, erasing the two-goal deficit in short order thanks to a pair of tallies by Gus Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk just 11 seconds apart.
Nick Cousins picked up the game-winning goal late in the third period after the puck took a funky bounce off the glass and bounced to the slot while Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord was below the goal line.
Cousins had nothing but an empty net to shoot at, picking up his first tally of the young season.
And on that note, lets get to THN’s three takeaways from Florida’s victory over Seattle.
COUSINS AND LOMBERG THRIVE TOGETHER
It was nice to see Cousins and his line with Ryan Lomberg and Eetu Luostarinen get rewarded with the big goal. The group was incredibly consistent on a night Florida’s top line struggled.
Cousins and Lomberg in particular were flying, with the Panthers holding the edge in scoring chances 11-2 during their time on the ice together.
“I think we got some good chemistry out there together,” Lomberg told THN after the game. “We’re fairly predictable for one another, and I think as the game went on, we got better."
High-danger chances were also 4-1 in Florida’s favor with Lomberg and Cousins on the ice.
This combination would be something to keep an eye on moving forward, if Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice keeps them together.
“I love playing with the guy,” Cousins said of Lomberg. “He’s a character, that’s for sure. He keeps things light on the bench, but he’s also a heck of a player. He’s got so much speed, he’s really strong on the puck, which he doesn’t get enough credit for, and he’s good at those little five-foot plays coming out of the offensive zone. He’s really fun to play with.”
BOB SOLID IN GOAL AGAIN
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 Seattle shots en route to his third win of the season.
His play in net has been incredibly steady, with none of the frustrating, weaker goals that have plagued him at times during his tenue with Florida creeping up to bite him in the behind.
Most notably, Bob’s rebound control has been incredibly improved.
Overall, Florida couldn’t be more thrilled with its early-season goaltending.
“He really kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win,” said Panthers Defenseman Gus Forsling. “He’s been unreal.”
STRONG GAME FOR ANTON LUNDELL
Lundell was moved up to center Florida’s second line, between Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk, and it proved to be a wise move for all involved.
The young Finn had his best statistical game of the season when looking at the advanced metrics.
He picked up an assist for the second straight game and perhaps more importantly, was the driving force of an extremely important line that Florida needed to perform well against a hard-checking Seattle group.
“It's been kind of on my mind that (Lundell) could get into that hole, and I like Lousty better with the other two, and they were good,” Maurice said of flipping his middle six centers. “So it worked for both lines a little bit. It's a different style of game that they play. But (Lundell) was better tonight.”
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