5 TAKEAWAYS: Bobrovsky 'Excellent' as Panthers Win in Arizona

GLENDALE, Ariz. -The Panthers scored three goals in the first period and then Sergei Bobrovsky did the rest during a 3-1 win over the Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Friday.
"I thought the guys did a great job," Bobrovsky said. "We scored two goals right away that gave us the lead. It's a big win for us -- a road win and two points. We're happy and we'll move on."
Improving to 18-4-4, Florida becomes the first team in the NHL to reach 40 points.

"I didn't even know we were there," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said when asked about that number. "A little bit of an onus here coming into this trip was to be a little better on the road. … We played well enough to get some points, but I think there's another level."
Turning to their fourth line for a boost, the Panthers opened the scoring against the Coyotes when Patric Hornqvist took a pass from Ryan Lomberg and buried a top-shelf snipe on Scott Wedgewood from the right side of the cage to make it a 1-0 game at 9:05 of the first period.
Riding off the momentum of that score, the Panthers doubled their lead on the very next shift when Sam Bennett wired a shot straight down the slot and into the net to make it 2-0 at 9:15.
"It was big," Brunette said of the bang-bang scoring sequence.
Getting the Coyotes on the board later in the period, Phil Kessel took a pass from Travis Boyd, skated down toward the center of the right center and let loose a laser of a wrist shot that flew past Bobrovsky and into the far side of the net on the man advantage to make it 2-1 at 16:53.
On a power play of their own soon after, the Panthers managed to get that goal back in a hurry when Sam Reinhart took advantage of some great traffic in the slot and ripped a shot right over Wedgewood's blocker to make it a 3-1 game with just 25 seconds remaining in the first period.
"I think there's another level for our road play that we need to find," Brunette said. "It was nice to get a regulation win here, and hopefully we can build [off that]. I thought in the third period we closed the door, didn't give up a whole lot, did the right things and closed the game out."
Over the next two periods, neither team would score as the game really lacked any sort of flow. The puck seemed to be bouncing a bit more than usual, and whenever the Coyotes did manage to get a shot anywhere near the net, Bobrovsky was there to turn it aside to keep the lead intact.
"It wasn't the prettiest game, to say the least," Bennett said of the lack of action on the ice. "We got the lead early and then we just played a pretty solid game after that. I think we weren't our sharpest, but we fought through and ended up getting the win, which is the most important part."
Of Bobrovsky's 22 saves, 15 came over the final 40 minutes of play.
"I could say this about him every night - he's lights out," Bennett smiled when asked about his goalie's play. "He gives us a chance. He gives us energy. He's playing unbelievable right now."
Closing out their three-game trip, the Panthers will visit the Avalanche on Sunday.
Here are five takeaways from Friday's win in the desert…

1. HORNQVIST BREAKS THE ICE

The fourth line continues to find important goals.
Helping the Panthers get back on track after a slow start, Eetu Luostarinen got the puck out of the defensive zone and onto to the stick of Lomberg, who then dished it to Hornqvist for a top-shelf snipe that made it a 1-0 game and jumpstarted the team's scoring spree in the first period.

"I was extremely happy for him," Brunette said of Hornqvist's goal. "He's done a lot. He's kind of taken on secondary roles and he's kept his attitude up and he's led by example all year. Ever since he's been here, he's been a big part of my thoughts about the culture change here."
Finishing the night with a goal and an assist, Hornqvist is now up to 13 points (four goals, nine assists) on the season. Against the Coyotes, he also contributed one hit and one blocked shot.

2. BENNETT BURIES ONE

After Hornqvist started the fire, Bennett poured some gasoline on it.
Doubling the lead for the Panthers just 10 seconds after the opening tally, Bennett, using a defender as a screen, ripped a shot over Wedgewood's glove to make it 2-0 in the first period.

"We're a lot better team than we've shown on the road," said Bennett, referencing the fact that Florida is 14-1-0 at home and 4-3-4 on the road. "We know we have to be better here, and tonight was the first step for that."
Moving into a tie for second on the team in goals, Bennett has now lit the lamp nine times this season. A force in the possession game against the Coyotes, he helped the Panthers lead 10-3 in shot attempts, 7-2 in shots on goal and 2-0 in goals scored when he was on the ice at 5-on-5.

3. REINHART STAYS HOT

Reinhart has been terrorizing opposing goaltenders recently.
Finding the back of the net for the fourth time in his last five games, the man they call "Reino" capped off a big first period for the Panthers when he fired a shot past Wedgewood on the power play to increase the lead to 3-1 with just 25 seconds to go until the first intermission.

Starting to get comfortable just past the quarter mark of his first season with the Panthers, Reinhart has registered nine points (five goals, four assists) over his last seven games. With that recent surge in production, he's moved into a tie for third on the team in points with 20.
Of his eight goals this season, six have come at even strength.

4. BOB COMES UP BIG

The first period tonight was all about goals.
The second and third were all about Bobrovsky.
Turning aside all 15 shots he faced over the final 40 minutes of regulation, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner finished with 22 saves to help lock down the 3-1 win. With that performance, he improved to 11-1-2 with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage this season.
Stopping all three high-danger shots he faced, Bobrovsky was perfect at even strength tonight.
"He was excellent," Brunette said. "You can tell a lot of times when he's zoned in, and I thought he was zoned in tonight."
In his 12 career starts against he Coyotes, Bobrovsky owns a 9-2-1 record.

5. JUOLEVI DEBUTS

Fans got their first look at Olli Juolevi tonight.
Playing his first game in a Panthers jersey, Juolevi, who has battled through injuries since being acquired in a trade with the Canucks back in October, saw 10:17 of ice time while paired up with Brandon Montour on the blue line in Arizona.
In the time that, the Coyotes had just two shots on goal.
"I thought he was good," Brunette said. "It's hard coming in, and it was his first game in a long time. I thought he handled himself really well. I'm sure he's happy that this one's over and he can kind of get moving forward."
The fifth-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Juolevi, 23, appeared in 23 games with Vancouver in 2020-21, recording two goals, one assist and 30 blocked shots.