Florida has continued to start games strong despite facing several desperate teams lately

The Florida Panthers received contributions from across the lineup during their latest win on the road, which came Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

While Matthew Tkachuk remained red-hot with another multi-point outing, the Panthers didn’t skip a beat despite quiet nights from Sasha Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe.

Zero points and four combined shots from Florida’s top line would go seemingly unnoticed thanks to the Panthers still earning a 5-2 win over the Penguins.

Along with Tkachuk, it was Florida’s third line that helped carry the load in Pittsburgh.

We’ll get to those guys in a minute.

Cue the takeaways…

Another strong start

A consistent characteristic in each of Florida’s recent opponents is that they all had a reason to be playing desperate hockey.

Even with that being the case, the Panthers have done well to stay in games or jump out in front despite their opponents fighting tooth and nail for every inch.

It was particularly impressive as they hit the road on Wednesday, keeping things calm, cool and collected in a loud and hostile environment.

“I was good with the first period,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “The first period of the last three games were all consistent in that you're playing a team – Washington was fighting for their lives, Colorado was proud team that had lost a couple, these guys are fighting for their lives – so it was a hard fought, even grinder in the first. In some ways, even at zeros, I think the game is almost…I don't know if I can say we won the game in the first period, but we certainly, on the road against a very desperate team, did what we needed to do to almost even the playing field a little bit. They have a huge emotional advantage on us going into that game and I thought we flattened that out by the end of the first.”

Strong game by Lundell line

Secondary scoring is always welcomed.

Florida’s big guns have carried the load for much of the season, but one of the main strengths of this Panthers team is its depth.

The Cats were able to flex that muscle in Pittsburgh thanks to its new-look third line.

The unit featuring Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen centered by Anton Lundell combined for five points on Wednesday and received high praise from their head coach afterwards.

“I know that (Lundell) and Evan Rodrigues weren't really part of each other's points, but they all got a little extra, and we need them,” Maurice said. “I thought from a forechecking point of view, and stripping pucks and creating plays, I thought that was our best line.”

Penalty Kill continues to come up big

As the season has progressed, one of the most consistent elements of Florida’s game has been the penalty kill.

That remained the case against the Penguins and their dwindling power play.

Florida finished the night in Pittsburgh going a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, adding to their already stellar numbers while playing down a man.

Overall, the Panthers’ PK is up to sixth best in the NHL, operating at an 83.1% success rate, but on the road, Florida now has the league’s best penalty kill (88.2%).

“Our penalty kill has been such an important part of what we do,” Maurice said. “It's the major improvement over all things from last season. Sergei certainly deserves a lot of credit for that, our goaltending has been good, but very aggressive and lots of confidence.”

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