RECAP: Panthers 5, Flames 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – It only took two games for Vladimir Tarasenko to get comfortable.

Acquired from the Ottawa Senators in a pre-deadline deal on Wednesday, the skilled sniper posted two goals and an assist to help lead the Florida Panthers to a 5-1 beatdown of the Calgary Flames at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s nice,” Tarasenko smiled when asked about being able to contribute early with his new team. “It’s kind of a relief. … You understand your linemates more, the system and how the team plays. I feel like I felt [more] comfortable as the game went on.”

Winning 17 of their last 20 games, the Panthers, who were briefly jumped by the Boston Bruins for a few hours, have moved back into first place in the NHL with a 44-17-4 record.

“When the schedule gets stiffer, it means there’s more of a challenge,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “I thought that was there tonight. It wears on you mentally. It got physical. We weren’t really excited about our start, but we had to get physical.”

With a combined 13 feet of goaltenders on the ice, neither team lit the lamp in the first period. Jacob Markstrom made nine saves for the Flames, while Anthony Stolarz matched him with nine saves of his own for the Panthers. Both teams had a trip to the power play.

Stolarz’s biggest stop in the opening 20 minutes came when he sprawled out and -- using all 6-foot-6 of his body -- kicked out a shot with his back leg to rob Andrew Mangiapane of a goal. That was one of five high-danger saves he made in the period, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

“Lucky that I’m 6’6,” Stolarz smiled. “I was able to kick that leg back.”

Involved in a collision in the period, Aaron Ekblad left the game and did not return.

In the second period, the Panthers also lost Evan Rodrigues to an injury after he blocked a shot.

“We’ll have a really good idea tomorrow [of their status],” Maurice said.

After firing up fans with a big hit in the first period, Tarasenko took things a step further just 23 seconds into the second when he intercepted a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau and fired a shot past Markstrom from the low slot to put the Panthers up 1-0.

“It’s nice to join the group,” Tarasenko said. “Everybody’s been very nice to me.”

On the power play, the Flames pulled even when Yegor Sharangovich deposited a rebound from the right side of the net to make it 1-1 at 5:51. Carrying a hot stick, Sharangovich has scored six goals over his last five game to move into a tie for the team-lead in goals with 26.

But the tie would last just 28 seconds.

After Tarasenko tracked down a clearing attempt from Calgary and sent the puck back into the offensive zone, Sam Reinhart grabbed the biscuit and sent a pass over to Aleksander Barkov, who then blasted a one-timer into the net from the right circle to put Florida up 2-1 at 6:19.

Helping keep the lead intact, Stolarz made multiple big saves soon after.

Near the 10-minute mark, he denied Mikael Backlund’s “Forsberg” shot on a breakaway.

“Our goaltender was fantastic tonight,” Maurice said of Stolarz, who improved to 13-5-2. “As a coach you’re really happy your goaltending’s that good, but you hate having to have goaltending that good. At the end of these stretches of blocks of games, you need a special performance usually out of one aspect of your game. Tonight, our goaltending was special.”

Extending the lead for the Panthers, Sam Bennett set up shop in the slot and tipped in a point shot from Gustav Forsling to make it 3-1 at 13:12. Officials briefly took a moment to review the play to see if the puck had been touched with a high stick, but the goal stood.

At 14:55, Tarasenko struck again with a snipe from the right circle to make it 4-1.

The line of Barkov, Tarasenko and Reinhart combined for two goals and three assists against Calgary.

“Vladi, he can score, he can make plays, he’s a very, very dangerous player when he has the puck on his stick, and even without the puck,” Barkov said. “Playing with those two guys, we’re always going to be as dangerous as possible.”

Despite being on the penalty kill, the Panthers padded their lead even further in the third period when Kevin Stenlund crashed the net, collected a pass from Eetu Luostarinen and beat Markstrom from right on top of the blue paint for a shorthanded goal to bring the score to 5-1 at 4:30.

With 2:57 left in regulation, the Panthers appeared to go up 6-1 when Barkov re-directed a centering feed from Tarasenko past Markstrom. But after a challenge by the Flames and a lengthy review by the officials, the goal came off the board after it was deemed play was offside.

Standing tall all night, Stolarz finished with 34 saves.

“They’re a fast team, they move the puck well and they’ve been playing well as of late,” Stoalrz said of the Flames. “We kind of knew they’d be a good test for us. Maybe tonight we came out a little slow and they jumped on us early, but your job as a goalie is to kind of slow the game down a little bit and make some key saves. Once we settled in, we really found our game.”

As for Tarasenko, he was excited to see the rats flying for the first time in his favor.

“I saw it a few times with other teams when I was here,” he said of Florida’s rodent-centric celebration. “A chance to take a closer look today. It’s pretty cool. It’s very good support.”

THEY SAID IT

“It’s a lot of fun when you can make saves like that. It gets the guys going. As a goalie, it feels like you can contribute and kind of change the tide of momentum.” – Anthony Stolarz

“Everyone knows how special [Vladimir Tarasenko] is. He’s been in the league for like 10, 11 years, and every year he’s been one of the highest goal scorers. He makes plays, he scores goals and he has an unreal shot.” – Aleksander Barkov

“I feel like you have your responsibilities and know where you’re responsible on the ice. If you don’t make them, it’s pretty clear it’s your fault. It’s easy to learn [the system].” – Vladimir Tarasenko

CATS STATS

- Kevin Stenlund recorded the third shorthanded goal of his career.

- The Panthers have not lost consecutive game since Jan. 17-19.

- Anthony Stolarz made 17 high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

- Vladimir Tarasenko owned a team-high 68.18% shot share at 5-on-5.

- Aleksander Barkov went 9-for-12 (75%) in the faceoff circle.

- Niko Mikkola notched a team-high seven hits.

- Brandon Montour blocked a team-high three shots.

- Aaron Ekblad skated in his 672^nd game with the Panthers, moving him past Jonathan Huberdeau (671) for the second-most games played in franchise history.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers have a tough road test on the horizon.

Kicking off a two-game trip against a pair of playoff-bound teams, they’ll first battle the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars (39-17-9) at American Airlines Center on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.