Jan 3, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) shoots the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins center Noel Acciari (55) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Rich Storry-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/bb51977d-82f1-4d67-a237-27188e4c7d08.jpeg] Jan 3, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) shoots the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins center Noel Acciari (55) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Rich Storry-Imagn Images) Playing in Sunrise for the first time in over two weeks, the Florida Panthers put on an exciting show for their home fans. It was the Cats third game in four nights and it came on the second night of a back-to-back that begin on Saturday in Washington D.C. Despite the Panthers falling behind early, they were able to find their groove and earn a thrilling comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning 4-3 in a shootout. The two points come at a great time for Florida because they’re now going to be off until Friday. Going into a four-day break between games after a big win is a much better feeling than going into it having lost five of seven. Instead, the Panthers maintain their spot atop the Atlantic Division thanks to their sixth straight win at Amerant Bank Arena. Let’s get to Sunday’s takeaways: BIT OF A SLOW START Based off the opening 20 minutes, this did not appear to be Florida’s night. They were outshot by the Penguins 16-4 during the first period and were down 2-1 when the buzzer sounded. Pittsburgh came into the game seven points back of the final Wild Card spot with 11 games to play, so their margin for error is microscopic, and that’s how they played after the puck dropped on Sunday. Fortunately for Florida, the veteran group was able to collect and compose themselves before coming back out and looking much more like the usual Panthers. “It's not easy, they come out so fast and their sticks are world class with some of the players that they have,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “Back-to-backs are not easy in this league, in my mind, anyway, especially because we got in a little later than I thought we would, so we were slow in the first (period) and then Barky (Sasha Barkov) throws a hit on the first shift of the second period, and after that, our game just rounded and we got better, so on back-to-back, really, really happy with the way they fought for it.” EXCELLENT GOALTENDING ON BOTH SIDES On a night where six goals were scored (outside of the shootout), the talk afterwards was still about the goaltenders. Tristan Jarry was excellent for Pittsburgh throughout, particularly as the game moved into the second and third periods when Florida threw 24 shots at the Penguins net. He stopped all five of Florida’s high danger shots, as well. Not to be outdone, Sergei Bobrovsky became a wall for the Panthers during the second half of the game and through the shootout. Bob finished with 24 saves, including four high danger shots and all three Penguins shootout attempts. “(Jarry) made three or four really impressive saves in there, in think, to keep us from taking that game in regulation, but really good goaltending,” said Maurice. “And then Sergei was, I mean, none of those saves are easy in the shootout, so both goalies had a piece of it.” ANOTHER SHOOTOUT BEAUTY FROM BARKOV Speaking of the shootout, how about that Sasha Barkov guy? The latest skills competition gem by Barkov ended up being the only goal scored during the shootout, but thanks to the aforementioned brilliance of Bobrovsky, it was enough to push the Panthers over the finish line and pick up the two points. After picking up the puck at center ice and making several stickhandles as he crossed into the Pittsburgh zone, Barkov suddenly sped up his pace significantly, quickly moving in on Jarry and sending a backhand shot between his legs before the veteran goaltender could get set. “I don't even know how it went in,” Maurice said with a smile. “Like it's on, and I can't follow the moves, and then I don't know when he shot it. All I know is the puck's coming back out. I don't know if the goalie saved it or if it hit the back of the net, that's how fast that is. I can't imagine what it's like. I think his strength there is that I think he's got a whole bunch of them, like he's not married to one move, so, yeah, pretty good.” LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Reinhart scores twice, Panthers earn comeback win over Pittsburgh [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/reinhart-scores-twice-panthers-earn-comeback-win-over-pittsburgh] Back on home ice, Panthers face Penguins in matchup of teams hungry for two points [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/back-on-home-ice-panthers-face-penguins-in-matchup-of-teams-hungry-for-two-points] Three takeaways: Panthers not ready for Caps' rush game, Samoskevich gets look on top line [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-panthers-not-ready-for-caps-rush-game-samoskevich-gets-look-on-top-line] Panthers end road trip with 6-3 loss to East-leading Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-end-road-trip-with-6-3-loss-to-east-leading-capitals] Panthers wrap up road trip against Capitals as division leaders clash in DC [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-wrap-up-road-trip-against-capitals-as-division-leaders-clash-in-dc]
