Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky speaks after Florida's 3-1 win over San Jose on Dec. 7. From start to finish, the Florida Panthers played as strong of a game as we’ve seen from them in recent weeks. Florida dominated the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night in Sunrise, winning 3-1 in a game that would’ve had a much different final score if not for the amazing efforts by goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. It appears the Panthers are past the rough patch they struggled with earlier this month, now holding a strong 5-0-1 mark over their past six games. A win like Saturday in which they controlled the puck at even strength almost exclusively is a great springboard for the Cats to head out on their upcoming five-game, nine-day road trip that takes place on the other side of the continent. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about the roadie, but for now, here are Saturday’s takeaways: SMART HOCKEY BY FLORIDA The score may have been close but anyone watching the game knows that it was basically all Panthers all the time. From the opening faceoff, Florida looked like they were the better team. Keep in mind, this isn’t the same San Jose team that was the worst in the NHL last season. Entering Saturday’s game, the Sharks had a very respectable 10-7-3 record over their previous 20 games. But playing the Panthers when they’re on their game is just a different beast. “You want to play pretty close to your game, regardless of the style,”. I'm not talking about the opponent, but just the style of game,” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said. “You can turn it into a puck game if you want just possession, making a lot of passes, moving it around, and I think we managed it mentally well. We put enough at the net, we didn't cheat the game to score because it wasn't easy to score, we didn't push that part of it. We played a pretty smart game with the puck tonight.” CONFIDENT TKACHUK Matthew Tkachuk is on some kind of a heater. Over the past week, he’s had four consecutive multi-point outings in which he’s scored five goals and 13 points. The two times Tkachuk scored on Saturday were not your typical, every day, run of the mill goals. His first goal, which came 23 seconds into the game, was a backhand that he batted out of midair off his own rebound, which came off a rebound of a Sam Bennett shot, while standing at the side of the net. Tkachuk’s second goal was off the rush, but he found himself at such a sharp angle that his only option was firing a shot that went off the arm of Blackwood and tricked down his back and into the net. Those are both shot attempts that screamed confidence. “He put (the puck) where he wanted to,” Maurice said. “The second one off the rush, there's more to it than that. That was a decision, he just wasn't throwing it at the het. He was looking for that top corner.” A GOALIE GAME On a night where both teams combined for 81 shots on 153 attempts, it would be an understatement to say the goaltenders were great. Sergei Bobrovsky came 1:25 away from a shutout, but he still finished with 28 saves and stopped all but one of San Jose’s eight high danger shots. The story of the game, however, was the play of Blackwood. After allowing the goal to Tkachuk on the first shot of the game, he became a brick wall between the pipes. Blackwood finished the game with 49 saves and, like Bobrovsky, only allowed one high danger shot to get past him, and it was that first goal of the game. He stopped the next eight Florida sent his way, and really, it felt like he made a whole heck of a lot more than that. “I thought their goaltender was really good tonight,” Maurice said. “I thought we had a really good balance between making plays and having a little bit of freedom to make plays, but not getting so far away from a structure that there weren't a lot of five guys buzzing around with nobody at the net. We were still pretty net focused tonight, so it was a good balance for that tonight.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Tkachuk stays hot, Panthers take down San Jose 3-1 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/tkachuk-stays-hot-panthers-take-down-san-jose-3-1] Panthers make brief stop in Sunrise for battle with visiting Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-make-brief-stop-in-sunrise-for-battle-with-visiting-sharks] Sergei Bobrovsky, Mackie Samoskevich returning to Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/sergei-bobrovsky-mackie-samoskevich-returning-to-panthers] Three takeaways: A win to forget, Panthers power play rolling [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-a-win-to-forget-panthers-power-play-rolling] Tkachuk, Reinhart shine as Panthers win wild game in Philadelphia [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/tkachuk-reinhart-shine-as-panthers-win-wild-game-in-philadelphia] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
