5 TAKEAWAYS: Coyotes 3, Panthers 1

Falling short on both sides of the special teams battle, the Florida Panthers opened up their four-game swing out west with a 3-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Tuesday.
Despite the end result, Florida fired off 40-plus shots on goal for the third straight game.
Sitting at 5-4-1, the Panthers will continue their road trip with a visit to San Jose on Thursday.
"It's a hard-fought game," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said following the loss in the desert. "We grinded right until the end. I think we're not going to lose too many games if we play like that. You don't want to take too many negatives from that game."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. COLIN HIS SHOT

Just like in real estate, hockey is all about location.
Finding plenty of open space in the slot, Colin White got the Panthers on the board when he re-directed a shot from Josh Mahura past Karel Vejmelka and into the twine to make it 1-0 at 8:24 of the second period.

Consistently contributing on offense, White has recorded at least one point in seven of 10 games.
After notching 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 24 games with the Ottawa Senators in 2021-22, White has gotten off to a fantastic start in his first season with the Panthers. In addition to being tied for second on the team in points (8), he's also tied for third on the club in goals (3).

2. WAITING TO STRIKE

The Coyotes seemed content to wait things out against the Panthers.
Clogging up the slot and weathering a storm of shots, the Coyotes found success simply by battening down the hatches and waiting for power plays to do their damage. While they only recorded 13 shots on goal at even strength, they managed to score on two of six shots on the power play.
Of course, that strategy hasn't been reserved for just one opponent.
Looking at their overall numbers on the season, the Coyotes rank tied for last in the NHL in goals at 5-on-5 with 11, but also rank second in goals on the power play with 11.

3. STILL FIGURING IT OUT

The Panthers still feel they have a few things to polish on their power play.
Going 0-for-3 in Arizona, the Panthers recorded eight shots on goal, 18 shot attempts - including seven from high-danger areas - and 13 scoring chances on the man advantage.
"Our power play has struggled this year," Bennett said. "We're still grinding away. It's important to get that power play rolling. I'm sure we're going to figure it out. Once we do, it's going to make our team that much more dangerous."
Not for lack of trying, the Panthers currently rank first in the NHL in shot attempts (160) and second in both shots on goal (80) and expected goals (12.42) on the power play this season. Doing a good job of getting to they net, they also sit first in high-danger shot attempts (47).
Looking at those numbers - and with Aaron Ekblad likely to return to action sometime this month - the pendulum should eventually start to swing the other direction for the Panthers.

4. SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS

Every single Panther tried to get one past Vejmelka.
Finishing with 42 shots on goal, every skater recorded at least one shot on goal against the Coyotes, while 12 different players produced at least two shots on goal. Letting it rip from the blue line, Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour registered seven and five shots, respectively.
"We got a lot of chances," said Bennett, who let loose three shots on goal and hit one post. "We're playing pretty sound hockey, it's just not being able to capitalize and put it in the back of the net. It's frustrating when you can't score, but we're still playing good hockey right now."
At 5-on-5, Florida ranks second in the NHL with 38.23 shots on goal per 60 minutes.
"We are asking them to drive as hard to be shooters as much as possible," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said prior to the game. "We firmly believe you're far more likely to get a puck to the net in the playoffs than you are to hit a seam. They just aren't there as much. It's changing a mindset as far as how we produce our offense. The shot is the start of the play, not the end of the play. It's how things begin for us."

5. TOP LINE CLICKING

Even though they didn't score, the new-look top line continues to shine for the Cats.
Over the 10:43 that Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk spent together at 5-on-5 against the Coyotes, Florida led 18-5 in shot attempts and 6-4 in scoring chances. Individually, Tkachuk finished second on the team in high-danger shot attempts with three.
While it's still very early in the season, the initial results since that line was put together have been utterly outstanding.
Overall, the Panthers have controlled a ridiculous 79.35% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 when that trio has been deployed. Most importantly, however, they've led 5-1 in goals during that same time.
As they continue to brew more chemistry, it's likely the goals will soon really start to flow.