Since January 1st, Matthew Tkachuk has 13 goals and 32 points in 17 games

The Florida Panthers got back to the business of winning hockey games on the road Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

Following a bit of a slow start, the Panthers exploded for four goals during the second period en route to a 5-2 victory over the struggling Penguins.

Florida has now won nine consecutive games away from home.

The pair of defensive-minded teams certainly played that way during the early stages of Wednesday's game.

There was no score and only seven total shots on 11 total scoring changes between the two teams during the opening twenty minutes.

That's okay, because the first five minutes of the second period made up for the lack of action during the first.

The fun began when Pittsburgh thought they'd scored a power play goal less than two minutes into the frame, but a high stick by Lars Eller that initially went undetected by the officiating staff would be recognized after a Florida challenge, and the goal was taken off the board.

After killing off the penalty, Florida's third PK to that point of the game, the Cats netted a pair of goals in short order.

First it was Matthew Tkachuk finishing off a nice give-and-go play with Evan Rodrigues, and then 32 seconds later Jonah Gadjovich got his stick on a Brandon Montour point shot to give the Panthers a quick 2-0 lead.

Florida eventually extended their lead to 4-0 on goals by Aaron Ekblad and Anton Lundell before the Penguins finally got on the board late in the second period.

Lundell would add another goal during the early stages of the third period when hit shot was blocked and went about 15-20 feet in the air before coming down in a perfect spot, right behind Penguins goaile Tristan Jarry.

Overall, it was another solid road win for the Panthers.

On to Buffalo for the back end of the back-to-back.

Here are some thoughts and observations from Wednesday's battle in Pittsburgh:

Florida went a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

The seven combined shots by the Panthers and Penguins in the first period were the fewest in a single period of any NHL game so far this season.

Tkachuk extended his latest points streak to a modest three games. He's got two goals and eight points during those three games, and he's now up to 13 goals and 32 points in 17 games since Jan. 1.

Evan Rodrigues picked up a pair of assists in the win. He's now got five points of his past six outings.

Sergei Bobrovsky had a shutout streak of 121:21 snapped when Jake Guentzel scored during the second period. 

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