5 TAKEAWAYS: Bobrovsky 'dialed in from the start' as Cats shut out Oilers

Even though the Panthers scored six goals, this game was all about Sergei Bobrovsky.
Helping his team weather an early onslaught, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner made 40 saves to earn his first shutout of the season in a 6-0 win over the Oilers at Rogers Arena on Thursday.

"He was the best player on the ice by far," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "He made some unbelievable saves on the PK and all night long. He really kept us in it early on. The game could have gone a lot different without him back there, for sure."
That's putting it lightly.
Coming out of the gate with a head full of steam, the Oilers peppered Bobrovsky with shot after shot throughout the entire opening 20 minutes of tonight's game. But even though they fired 17 shots in his direction -- including several from high-danger areas -- Bobrovsky simply wouldn't break.
"He kept us in the game," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "We knew that wasn't our best period and that we had better hockey. I thought the group really showed their resilience and their compete level. … Bob definitely gave us an opportunity to find our legs and find our game. We're very grateful for that because [Edmonton] really barnstormed us early."
Going on the offensive in the second period, the Panthers broke the ice when Sam Reinhart sauced a pass through the slot and onto the stick of Aleksander Barkov, who then one-timed a short-side snipe straight past Mikko Koskinen on the power play to make it a 1-0 game at 5:28.
Doubling the lead less than three minutes later, Verhaeghe, set up by another great pass from Reinhart, ripped a shot into the twine from the center of the left circle to make it 2-0 at 8:07.
"We came out a little slow tonight, but Bob was dialed in from the start," Verhaeghe said. "He made huge saves for us all night long. He kept us in the game until we finally got our footing under us and started to play a little better."
Firmly on their feet, the Panthers continued to roll in the third period.
After Barkov bamboozled Koskinen with a fiery wrister from the high slot to make it 3-0 at 7:13, Anthony Duclair tapped in a shot from the doorstep on the power play to increase the lead to 4-0 at 15:40. Going back on the power play right away, Sam Bennett then made it 5-0 at 16:54.
Nailing down the win, Owen Tippett finished off a beautiful give-and-go with Maxim Mamin by sniping a shot into the opposing cage to increase the lead to 6-0 with 1:44 left in regulation.

In addition to Bobrovsky's stellar play between the pipes, the Panthers had a strong night on both sides of the special teams battle. Going 3-for-5 on the power play, they also kept the Oilers' top-ranked power play in check on all three chances they had with the extra attacker.
"Special teams on the road haven't been a strength of ours and kind of put us in positions where we weren't able to win games," Brunette said. "Tonight, the penalty killing was really good against the best power play in league. As for our power play, it's been growing and been better."
Improving to 27-8-5, the Panthers currently sit atop the NHL's standings.
"We competed harder in the second [period] and kind of took over the game," Brunette said. "Bob was outstanding in the first period and throughout the whole game. He really gave us a chance to win. He was great."
Looking to build off tonight's road win, the Panthers will visit the Canucks on Friday.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday's win in Edmonton…

1. BARKY'S BIG NIGHT

The captain came up big tonight.
Setting up shop near the bottom of the right circle, Barkov showed off his hand-eye coordination when he one-timed a saucer pass from Reinhart right as it was hitting the ice, sending the puck under Koskinen's glove to put the Panthers up 1-0 on the power play early in the second period.

Not done there, he added another goal for good measure in the third period when he took a pass from Gudas, skated to the high slot and wired home a laser of a wrist shot to make it 3-0.

With no shortage of superstars on the ice in Edmonton, Barkov stood out.
"He rose up to the challenge," Brunette said. "[The Oilers] have two of the top players in the league, and I think he played his best game for the last few games. I think it was really good to see him get rewarded with a couple goals and three-point night. He was outstanding."
Tied for first on the Panthers in goals (17), Barkov, who also dished out an assist tonight, has produced five goals and six assists over his last seven games. A key player at both ends of the ice, the star center spent 3:37 on the power play and 3:02 on the penalty kill against the Oilers.
"He's such a joy to coach and to be around," Brunette said.

2. CAN'T STOP

Carter can't stop scoring.
Lighting the lamp for the sixth time in his last six games, Verhaeghe increased Florida's lead to 2-0 less than three minutes after Barkov opened the scoring when he took a pass from Reinhart and snapped a shot past Koskinen and into the twine from the right circle in the second period.

"He made a really silky pass to me," Verhaeghe said. "I had a lot of time."
Riding a four-game point streak, Verhaeghe is tied for third on the Panthers in scoring with 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists). All of those 14 goals have been scored at even strength, which is tied with Anthony Duclair for the most on the team and also tied for the 11th-most in the league.

3. THE SECRET SAUCE

The common denominator on the first two goals for the Panthers?
Reinhart.
Dishing out three primary assists in tonight's win, the skilled forward showed off both his precision and soft touch in the passing game. After floating a saucer pass through the slot to set up Barkov's first goal, he then made a sweet backdoor dish to tee up Verhaeghe's goal soon after.
In the third, he chipped in one more helper on Duclair's power-play goal.
"He's a really good player," Verhaeghe said. "He makes those little passes. He's really smart. He knows the right areas to be. You can see it on both goals."
Cracking the scoresheet in 11 of his last 16 games, Reinhart has produced 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in that span. Finishing with three assists against the Oilers, he's now posted three games this season with at least three points, with all three of them coming since Dec. 2.
Over his last 15 games, Reinhart has recorded seven multi-point performances.

4. PILING ON

Even though the game was being played in Edmonton, Panthers fans around South Florida were probably still chanting "We want 10!" from their couches as the clock was winding down.
With Barkov, Duclair, Bennett and Tippett all finding the back of the net in the third period, the Panthers successfully scored at least five goals for the eighth time in their last 10 games. A full team effort, 11 different players registered at least one point during tonight's offensive outburst.

Leading the league with 164 goals, the Panthers also tied the 1994-95 Nordiques for the sixth-most goals scored by an NHL team through the first 40 games of a season dating back to 1993.
"Everyone played really well tonight," Verhaeghe said.

In terms of individual accolades, Jonathan Huberdeau, who with an assist tonight moved into a tie for second in the league in scoring with 54 points, climbed into a three-way tie for the third-most assists by a primary left winger through the first 40 games of a season with 39 helpers.

5. BOB THE BEAST

As the final minutes started to roll off the clock, the Panthers knew what they had to do.
They had to get Bobrovsky a shutout.
"All the boys were rallying around him," Verhaeghe said. "He was unbelievable tonight. He deserved it. The last couple minutes everyone was trying to play really good D and trying to do it for him there."
Mission accomplished.
Earning the 35th clean sheet of his career - the third-most ever by a Russian-born goaltender - Bobrovsky turned aside all 40 shots he faced, including a barrage of 17 shots in the first period.
Of those stops, none were likely bigger than when he sprawled out to deny Jesse Puljujarvi right on top of the blue paint in the waning seconds of the first period to keep the game scoreless.

"We have a great team and we have a tight group," Bobrovsky said. "I love the guys and believe in the guys. I think we've built a great atmosphere in the locker room. I've said it so many times, but I'm just happy and it's so much fun to be a part of this group."
Sitting at a spectacular 20-3-3 on the season, Bobrovsky also improved to 8-0-1 over his last nine games to become just the third goaltender in franchise history to earn a point in at least for that long of a stretch, joining Roberto Luongo (2015-16) and John Vanbiesbrouck (1996-97).
"Doing the right things, the result is coming to come," Bobrovsky said.