5 Takeaways: Bjugstad's Hat Trick Helps Panthers Claim Point in Tampa
"I think the boys fought hard tonight," said Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo, who made 28 saves. "I thought we were the better team, but they're very opportunistic on the other side. They've got some skill. When we made a mistake, they made us pay."
Nick Bjugstad scored his first-career hat trick to help get the game to overtime for the Panthers, who extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1) and have still won 13 of their last 17 games to remain in the thick of the playoff picture.
"It was just one of those where it was finding my stick," Bjugstad said. "Barky [Aleksander Barkov] and Dads [Evgenii Dadonov] were finding me. It feels good. It obviously would have been better with a win, but that's a good squad over there. If we can compete and we come back from deficits, that's very telling, especially at this point in the season. We didn't roll over."
In overtime, Brayden Point was the hero for Tampa, scoring the game-winning goal by maneuvering around Dadonov with a nifty move before beating Luongo top shelf at 2:49 of the extra frame.
"Obviously in 3-on-3 [overtime] anything can happen," Bjugstad said. "It was good to get the comeback and we'll move on from here. Like I said, it was just one of those games and I'm pretty thankful."
Florida (32-25-7) now sits two points behind Columbus for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with three games in hand and will head home for a five-game homestand at BB&T Center.
"We just want to keep going," Luongo said. "Obviously, it's going to take hard work just like we did. We have to make sure that we're ready to go come Thursday night."
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's overtime loss in Tampa…
1. DIGGING A HOLE
When asked about the biggest keys to their recent hot stretch, the Panthers have said that, among other things, a good start will usually result in a fortunate end. In looking at their season, that thinking certainly holds true, as they are 23-9-2 when scoring first. But after opening the scoring in 12 of the last 14 contests, Florida found itself in an unfamiliar place on Tuesday night, as the Lightning struck twice in the first period to put the Panthers in a two-goal hole for the first time since a 7-2 loss to Winnipeg on Feb. 18. From there, the team had to play catchup all night, as they erased three separate two-goal deficits throughout the game to secure a point in overtime. "We felt good about our game at the time, even regardless of the score," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said of the back-and-forth game. "It's a resilient group. My message is that good teams find a good way to scrape a point or two out of a building like this when things aren't going your way on the scoreboard. Let's play like it's 0-0, keep our heads up and go after them."
2. BEAUTIES FOR BJUGY
While the points have been plentiful, the goals have been harder to come by for Bjugstad in recent months. Although he's already set a new career-high with 24 assists this season, the 25-year-old forward entered Tuesday night's contest with just two goals in his last 29 games. He now has five in his last 30. The center-turned-winger opened the scoring for the Panthers in Tampa, beating goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy with sharp-angle shot from just below goal line to reduce Florida's deficit to 1 at 18:23 of the first period. Later, he potted his second of the night, out-muscling several defenders before banging home a shot in the crease to cut Tampa's lead to 3-2 at 13:35 of the second period. With the two scores, he secured the sixth-multi goal game of his career and first since Feb. 15, 2017. But Bjugstad wasn't done yet.
3. A MONSTER GAME
Entering the third period facing down a 4-2 deficit, Bjugstad wasted no time in jumpstarting Florida's comeback, cashing in on a rebound from the doorstep to make it a 4-3 game just 21 seconds into the final frame. If you're keeping count, that's three goals for Bjugstad - the first hat trick of his NHL career. Bjugstad's hat trick is the fourth of the season for the Panthers, with Radim Vrbata, Vincent Trocheck and Evgenii Dadonov also scoring three in games earlier this season. Bjugstad also now has points in four straight games - a season high. He has recorded at least one point in 12 of his last 16 games and ranks sixth on the Panthers with 38 points (14-24-38) in 64 games this season. "He was a monster," Boughner said. "He was taking pucks to the net and dragging people on his back. Since I've been here, that's the best game I've seen Nick play. We needed a performance like that."
4. TROCHECK TIES IT
When the Panthers head to the power play, it's Trocheck's time to shine. The crafty center scored his team-leading 12th power play goal on Tuesday night, beating Vasilevskiy with a shot through traffic to tie the game at 4 at 5:25 of the third period. The goal was Trocheck's 25th of the season, moving him into a tie with Barkov for the team-lead and also matching a career high. After a 1-for-2 performance against the Lightning, Florida improved to 14-for-47 (29.8 percent) with the man advantage over its last 14 games. As it stands now, Trocheck's 21 points on the power play paces the Panthers and his 12 goals are tied for fourth in the league. Having already surpassed his career-high point total last week, the 24-year-old padded his stats further in Tampa and now sits at 58 (25-33-58) on the season - tied with Jonathan Huberdeau for second-most on the Panthers.
5. BARKOV'S STREAK
Barkov's four-game goal streak came to an end on Tuesday night. His point streak, however, is alive and well. With three assists against the Lightning, the 22-year-old center extended his streak to seven games (5-8-13), continuing a torrid pace that has helped move him into the top-20 in league scoring. With 67 points (25-42-67), Barkov paces the Panthers and is also tied with New York Islanders center John Tavares for 16th in the NHL. Since Feb. 1, Barkov has been producing at far greater than a point-per-game pace, recording 24 points (10-14-24) in 16 games - the third-most points in the league during that span.
