5 Takeaways: Boughner Sees Work Ahead After Dropping Doubleheader

SUNRISE, Fla. - It was the tale of two games for the Florida Panthers.
After suffering a lopsided 5-0 loss earlier in the day, the Panthers showed a lot more fight in the nightcap of their annual doubleheader against the Nashville Predators, taking an early lead but eventually losing 5-3 on Monday night at BB&T Center thanks to a hat trick from Filip Forsberg.

"I thought the second game was better than the first game, obviously," coach Bob Boughner said. "There's some young guys there that we need to see more from. Did individuals stand out? I don't know. I thought we made enough mistakes. It gave us a lot of material to go over and a lot of corrections to make. For the lineups that we dressed and the lineups that we played against I thought there were some good things, but there's a lot of work to be done."
That work will continue tomorrow when the Panthers make their first round of preseason cuts before heading to Montreal. Hoping to field what he described as "an older, veteran lineup" against the Habs on Wednesday, Boughner said he wants to see more from the young players hoping to stick around.
"These two games here were to give some young guys a shot, to give some guys a look and reward some guys that had good years last year for us in Springfield," he said. "But in my mind it's time to get the big group ready. You'll see a lot of that rolling out in the next few games."
Here are five takeaways from Monday's doubleheader in Sunrise…

1. ANG IMPRESSES

As one of the few veterans to suit up for the Panthers in the top half of the doubleheader, defenseman Alexander Petrovic was asked which of his young teammates impressed him the most during the game.
"Jonathan Ang was looking fast out there," said Petrovic, who is entering his seventh season in Florida. "A lot of those guys are working hard. From juniors coming up here, I remember when I did the same thing and it was very nerve-wracking."
With his first pro season on the horizon, Ang didn't look the least bit skittish in his first taste of on-ice action this season. The 20-year-old forward recorded one shot and two takeaways in 16:31 of ice time, with 4:19 coming on the penalty skill - a specialty Ang has been working on since juniors.
"I'm used to PK'ing, so it was nothing new," said Ang, who scored four shorthanded goals in 65 games split between Peterborough and Sarnia in the OHL last season. "It's learning a new system, that's about it. I had a lot of fun out there."
A fourth-round pick in 2016, Ang capped off a stellar four-year junior career by producing at better than a point-per-game clip. In 65 games, the 6-foot, 170-pound center had 25 goals and 70 points. A natural center, Ang has been playing on the wing since the start of training camp - a transition he's embraced.
"If they want me to play on the wing, I'll play on the wing. If they want me to play center, I'll play center," Ang said. "For myself, I'm just trying to adjust the best I can and play that position the best I can."

2. HUTCHINSON SHAKES OFF THE RUST

While it's common for goaltenders to split time during preseason games, Michael Hutchinson enjoyed playing a full 60 minutes for the Panthers on Monday. Working to shake off the rust of a long summer, the 28-year-old netminder believes the extra playing time will certainly expedite the process.
"It's huge," said Hutchinson, who signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Panthers this summer. "Over the summer, you kind of forget how long a full game is. It's really a mental battle to stay focused for a full 60 minutes, so it's nice to have that where you're not really watching the clock in the second period just trying to get to the 10-minute mark… It was good to battle for the full 60-minutes."
Hutchinson, who spent the last five seasons within Winnipeg's organization, spent the majority of last season with the club's AHL affiliate in Manitoba. Coming off an All-Star season in the minors, he ranked second in save percentage (.935) and third in goals-against average (2.08) in 26 AHL games in 2017-18.
In 102 career NHL games, Hutchinson has a 2.65 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
"I'm just focusing on myself, showing up every day, working hard and trying to improve," said Hutchinson, who stopped 26 of 31 shots in his preseason debut. "I'm trying to make a good first impression. There's a lot of people in the organization that haven't seen me play much. I'm just taking that as an opportunity to come in here and establish myself."
As the third-string goaltender, Hutchison hopes to act as a safety net for the Panthers this season.
"There's very few teams that get through a full year with two goalies," Hutchinson said. "We want to make a deep run. You need three goalies in an organization to make a push for the playoffs… it's one of those things that I think every organization is realizing right now that's an important position to have."

3. BJUGSTAD OPENS THINGS UP

The first goal of Florida's preseason wasn't pretty, but it counted.
In Game 2 of the doubleheader, the Panthers took an early lead thanks to an own-goal from Predators center Tyler Gaudet. With plenty of traffic in front of Nashville's net, Gaudet went to poke the puck out of harm's way, but instead sent it past goaltender Pekka Rinne, giving Florida a 1-0 lead at 14:59 of the first period. As the last Panther to touch the puck, Nick Bjugstad was credited with the goal.
"We know what we've got to do out there," Bjugstad said. "It's all on us and reacting on time."
At 6-foot-6 and 218 pounds, Bjugstad's goal wasn't pure luck. It was the result of good positioning. As the largest skater on the Panthers, the 26-year-old is hoping to evolve his game in and around the net even further this season, hoping to open up the ice for his teammates and cash in on more rebounds.
"It doesn't matter what line I'm playing on, that's got to be my role," Bjugstad said. "I've got to use my size and try to get to the net. I tried to work on that more this summer, just as far as creating stuff in front of the net. That's got to be a big key for me this year. I've got to keep working on it."
After posting a career-low 14 points during a 2016-17 campaign fraught with injuries, Bjugstad played the best hockey of his career last season, setting new highs in points (49), assists (30) and games played (82). Projected to start as one of Florida's top-line wingers, he'll now look to build on that momentum.
"There's some things I got to brush up on after tonight, but it's a good starting point," Bjugstad said.

4. MACDONALD JOINS THE FARM

Billed as an offensive wizard from the blue line, Jacob MacDonald certainly looked the part in his debut.
MacDonald, who inked a two-year, two-way contract with the Panthers this summer, lit the lamp during Game 2 of the doubleheader, firing a slap shot from one knee that blew past goaltender Troy Grosenick to put the Panthers up 2-1 at 12:06 of the second period. He went on to finish with four shots in 17:51.
"It felt good. Getting used to the guys and the systems and stuff is my main focus. It's just a little bonus to get a nice shot there in the second period… There was a couple of other chances I wish I would have capitalized on, too, but you can't get greedy."
MacDonald led all AHL defensemen in goals (20) and points (55) in 75 games with the Binghamton Devils last season, including 11 goals on the power play, which also paced the league's blue liners. After a long career in the minors - one that includes 110 career games in both the AHL and ECHL - MacDonald hopes to eventually crack Florida's roster. At 25, he has yet to make his NHL debut, but feels closer than ever.
"It's a limited number [of preseason games]," MacDonald said. "You don't know how many you're going to get. Every shift, every period, every game you've got to make the most of your opportunity."

5. KISELEVICH WANTS MORE

After nine seasons in the KHL, Bogdan Kiselevich's dream of playing the NHL finally came true.
In Game 2 of the doubleheader, Kiselevich took his first steps onto North American nice, finishing with one shot, three hits and a plus-one rating in 19:11 of ice time. Playing alongside MacKenzie Weegar on the team's top defensive pairing throughout the contest, the 28-year-old said he felt "pretty good."
"I was ready for this," Kiselevich said. "I've been practicing. I'm not a young guy… It's a good feeling now."
A 6-foot, 207-pound native of Cherepovets, Russia, Kiselevich had 23 goals and 100 assists in 393 career KHL games for CSKA Moscow (2014-18) and Severstal Cherepovets (2009-14). In 2017-18, he posted 16 assists in 44 games and was named to the KHL First All-Star Team.
With his first NHL game in the books, Kiselevich said he's now hungrier than ever to get back out there.
"I like it better and better," he said. "I want to play more and more. It's what I'm looking forward to."