Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist speaks after practice in Philadelphia on Dec. 4. A entertaining night of hockey in eastern Pennsylvania went the way of the Florida Panthers. An eye-popping 12 goals were scored when all was said and done, but it was the Panthers escaping Philadelphia with a 7-5 win over the Flyers. Florida continued its recent trend of strong starts, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the game’s first seven minutes. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] First it was Evan Rodrigues on the forecheck, stealing the puck from Tyson Forester and stuffing it past a surprised Ivan Fedotov at the 2:36 mark. Niko Mikkola doubled Florida’s lead with a long wrister that came after some hard work below the goal line by Matthew Tkachuk. Early in the second period, Sasha Barkov finished off a pretty passing play with Sam Reinhart and Tkachuk to give Florida a 3-0 lead, but unfortunately for the Cats, it wouldn’t last. Philly scored a pair of goals just over two minutes apart, one by Tyson Forester and one by Nick Seeler, to cut the Panthers lead to 3-2 with more than half the game to go. An offensive zone interference penalty on Scott Laughton led to Florida’s second power play of the game, and you better believe they took advantage. After having a power play goal taken away for goalie interference earlier in the period, Carter Verhaeghe mare sure it would count this time, finishing up high from in tight on Aleksi Kolosov, who replaced Fedotov after the opening frame. Former Panthers first round pick Owen Tippett scored a pair of goals just 25 seconds apart to quickly tie the game late in the second period. Garnet Hathaway gave the Flyers their first lead of the game at the 5:39 mark of the third when he slammed home a loose puck in the goal crease after Knight made a couple of saves in tight. With the teams playing four-on-four late in the third, a Gustav Forsling wrist shot from the point found its way past Kolosov to tie the game at five. A late Panthers power play off an undisciplined cross-checking penalty on Travis Sanheim led to – stop me if you’ve heard this before – a Sam Reinhart power play goal with 1:59 on the clock to take the lead back at 6-5. Tkachuk picked up the empty-net goal to seal the win for Florida. They’re heading home with three of four points after a tough trip through Pennsylvania. On to the Sharks. QUICK THOUGHTS Barkov’s goal was his seventh of the season, and he’s up to 27 points in 19 games. Lundell is heading up, now with six points over his past six games. Tkachuk extended his point streak to five games. He’s racked up 12 points during the run after logging a goal and four assists Thursday. Rodrigues has two goals and five points over his past five games. Over the same span, Luostarinen has dished out five assists. Verhaeghe has now logged four goals and nine points over his past seven games. Fresh off a rare pointless game, Reinhart picked up a goal and two assists to bring his season totals to 19 goals and 37 points. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Panthers wrap up quick road trip in Philly against surging Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-wrap-up-quick-road-trip-in-philly-against-surging-flyers] Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Niko Mikkola join Sasha Barkov on Finland 4 Nations roster [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/anton-lundell-eetu-luostarinen-niko-mikkola-join-sasha-barkov-on-finland-4-nations-roster] Three takeaways: Odd game for Panthers, Knight struggles in Pittsburgh [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-odd-game-for-panthers-knight-struggles-in-pittsburgh] Comeback Cats force overtime in Pittsburgh, fall 5-4 to Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/comeback-cats-force-overtime-in-pittsburgh-fall-5-4-to-penguins] Predicting which Florida Panthers will be selected for 4 Nations Face-Off [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/predicting-which-florida-panthers-will-be-selected-for-4-nations-face-off] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
