5 TAKEAWAYS: Flames 6, Panthers 2

CALGARY -- After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, the Florida Panthers couldn't claw their way back in an eventual 6-2 loss to the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.
With the loss, Florida now sits at 10-9-4 in the standings.
"That's not what we want to be known for, opening it up and trading chances," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "We definitely don't want to be leaving Bob Sergei Bobrovsky] out to dry like we did for most of that third. Just giving up a lot of partial breakaways or breakaways or odd-man rushes, that's not us. It's unfair to our goaltending."
For a quick recap of the game, click
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To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. COUSINS CASHES IN

Go to the net and good things will happen.
Getting the Panthers on the board in the second period, Nick Cousins stuck his stick out and deftly directed a pass from Gustav Forsling into the cage from the slot to cut the deficit to 3-1.

"It was kind of a nothing play," Cousins said of the goal. "Just went up to the point, kind of beat my guy off the wall. It was kind of how I scored my last two goals. Yeah, just go to the net."
Helping push play whenever he was on the ice against the Flames, the Panthers led 6-2 in shots on goal and 2-0 in goals when Cousins was deployed at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Over his last five games, Cousins has logged one goal and four assists.

2. EKBLAD'S MILESTONES

It's been an impressive run of milestones for Aaron Ekblad.
After scoring the 100th goal of his NHL career on Nov. 23 against Boston, he recorded the 300th point of his career on Monday in Edmonton. Adding another ceremonial puck to his mantle, he notched the 200th assist of his career on Cousins' goal in the second period against the Flames.
Per NHL PR, Ekblad is the third defenseman in franchise history to record 200 assists.
Amassing 10 points (four goals, six assists) through 12 games this season, Ekblad has is currently riding a five-game point streak in which he's produced three goals and four assists.

3. REINHART RIPS IT

Sometimes you've just got to let it rip.
After settling down a pass from Anton Lundell, Reinhart skated into the zone and ripped a laser past Dan Vladar from the top of the right circle to cut Florida's deficit to 4-2 in the second period.
Catching fire, Reinhart has scored five goals in his last eight games.
"When we play the right way within our system, it makes it tough on the opposition," Reinhart said. "I think we've got to shift our focus a little bit and get back to the defensive side of the game."
Very active against the Flames, Reinhart also contributed two hits, one blocked shot and one takeaway in addition to his goal. Finding success with Lundell and Cousins, Reinhart's line outscored the Flames 2-0 over the 6:30 it spent together at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

4. FALLING BEHIND EARLY

It's never easy to dig out of an early hole, especially in enemy territory.
Not getting the start they'd hoped for on the second half of their back-to-back, the Panthers surrendered three goals in the first 12:03 of the first period to fall behind 3-0 to the Flames.
Taking advantage of their opportunities, Calgary managed to net those three goals despite registering just eight scoring chances over the course of the opening 20 minutes of action.
"I think every chance we gave them early, they capitalized on," Reinhart said. "It's tough to catch up, especially when the energy isn't there. I think you want to come out -- especially on a back-to-back -- and play simple and get yourself into the game that way. I think we made it too tough on ourselves early on."
With starts more important than ever in the NHL, the Panthers have posted a 7-1-2 record when leading after the first period and a 0-4-1 record when trailing after the first period this season.
"It's tough to dig a hole like that, for sure," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "On a back-to-back you don't have the legs, but I didn't think that stopped us at the start of the second period. It's a tough challenge. I would say that they handled it as best they possibly could. The bench was right, they stayed in the fight, and nothing came easy to them tonight."

5. THREE MORE TO GO

Every new game is a chance to get back in the win column.
After going 0-1-1 on the first two stops of their five-game road trip, Tkachuk said he expects players to really "dig in deep" during Thursday's matchup against the Vancouver Canucks.
At 10-9-4, Florida still sits just two points out of a playoff spot.
"Everybody's got to take their game to a whole new level," Tkachuk said. "We obviously don't have Barky [Aleksander Barkov] right now, who's a big, big part of it. He's our captain and everything. Everybody else just has to step up. This road trip's very important for us."
Speaking of Barkov, who has missed the last three games due to a non-COVID illness, Maurice provided an update on his status prior to the game on Tuesday.
"Feeling better today, which is the first kind of positive news that we've got," Maurice said. "We hope he's on the mend here now. I don't have a timeline for you, but we're more confident and feeling better about where he's at than we were yesterday."