5 TAKEAWAYS: Despite Loss in Boston, Panthers Keep Point Streak Alive

BOSTON- One streak ends, but another lives on.
Despite having their winning streak snapped at eight games, the Panthers extended their point streak to nine games with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday night.

Still sitting pretty with a strong 8-0-1 record and a nice cushion atop the Atlantic Division, Florida's winning streak was tied for the fourth-longest to start a season in NHL history.
"We lost, but it was a good game," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "We played a really good game. We battled hard. We did it all. A couple unfortunate bounces … We played well. We just want to keep going. We don't think about any winning streaks or anything. The most important is playing the right way, fixing the little things, and keep playing the right way."
Despite being on the second half of a back-to-back, the Cats showed their claws in Boston.
After Spencer Knight stopped the first 13 shots he faced, the Bruins finally got the puck past the Panthers rookie goaltender when Charlie Coyle connected on a top-shelf snipe from the center of the left circle to make it a 1-0 game with just 41.9 seconds left on the clock in the first period.
For Knight, who grew up in Connecticut and starred for two seasons at Boston College, playing his first game at the rink where he spent so much time in throughout his life was very special.
"It was eight months ago or so that I was watching [the Bruins] on TV while I was at BC," said Knight, who had friends and family scattered throughout the arena cheering him on. "I'd been coming to games here since I was 6 or 7 years old, had hockey tournaments here. It's cool."
Pulling the Panthers even less than a minute into the second period, Anthony Duclair took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe and, rather than attempting a low-percentage pass through traffic, skated straight into the slot and lifted a shot over Linus Ullmark's glove to make it a 1-1 game.
In the third period, it was all about special teams.
Sent to the man advantage, Barkov won a crucial faceoff, skated into the right circle and then one-timed a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau into the twine to put the Panthers up 2-1 at 7:49.
Not too longer after that, the Bruins then brought the game back to a tie when Charlie McAvoy took a cross-ice feed from Brad Marchand and scored on the power play to make it 2-2 at 13:35.
After Knight helped the Panthers stay alive in overtime with a critical save on David Pastrnak, Coyle then went on to register the lone goal in the shootout to secure the 3-2 win for the Bruins.
Happy with their overall effort, the Cats will now look to start a new winning streak next week.
"We played hard," Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. "Heck of an effort by the guys. Back-to-back nights in tough places to play. An emotional week.
To come up with the energy and the desire to compete that hard shows the resiliency of this group." Here are five takeaways from Saturday's shootout loss in Boston…

1. DUKE SCORES AGAIN

When Duclair is moving at full speed, it's best to just get out of the way.
Turning on the jets after collecting a pass from Verhaeghe, the winger showed off his all-world wheels when he skated through the right circle and danced into the slot before ripping a quick shot past Ullmark and into the net to make it a 1-1 game just 47 seconds into the middle frame.

"I thought he was really good tonight," Brunette said.
Leading the Panthers with six goals, Duclair has notched at least one point in seven of nine games this season, including an active four-game point streak in which he's produced three goals and one assist.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the Cats controlled 66.67% of shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 tonight.
"He creates chances," Brunette said. "He uses his speed, and he's got a touch, especially when he gets on a roll like he's on now where he's in a position to score a bunch of goals."

2. BARKOV BURIES ANOTHER

Barkov usually celebrates his goals with a humble stick lift or sneaky smile.
This one, however, received a little something more.
With the game tied 1-1 in the third period, the Panthers captain, who won a faceoff to get the sequence started on the power play, teed up a pass from Huberdeau and blasted a one-timer from the right circle past Ullmark to make it a 2-1 game with 12:11 remaining in regulation.

Overall, Florida has scored at least one power play goal in five of its last seven games.
"It's just getting those passes, moving the puck and working for the loose pucks," Barkov said of the team's improvement on the man advantage. "It's about time that it's going to start clicking because we have pretty much the same people on the ice. We know how we need to play."
Netting three goals in his last four games, Barkov also ranks second on the Panthers with nine points.
"We're having a lot of fun," Barkov said. "With this group of guys, there's no other way. We really enjoy playing for each other, playing hard. Every situation, every practice, every day at the rink we just go."

3. KNIGHT IN NET

Although he took the first loss of his career, Knight had another great start.
In addition to turning aside 31 of 33 shots, he also surrendered just one goal in the shootout.
"Disappointed we didn't get the win for him," Brunette said. "He played well. He's a pretty special kid. He's calm, cool and composed. He's a heck of a goalie."
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Knight went 7-for-8 on high-danger shots tonight.
"I want to keep improving and evolving," said Knight, who is 2-0-1 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage this season. "Just because I'm playing at the highest level doesn't mean I'm there yet. I still think I'm very far away from where I want to be and where I could be."
Still only 20 years old, it's hard not to get excited thinking about Knight's bright future.

4. DALPE GETS THE CALL

With the Panthers a bit banged up, Zac Dalpe was recalled from Charlotte this afternoon.
Luckily, he didn't have to travel too far as the Checkers were nearby in Connecticut preparing for a game at Hartford tonight. Prior to getting the call, the 31-year-old veteran had scored one goal in four games to start the season in the AHL, while also serving as Charlotte's captain.
In his debut with the Panthers, he recorded one block and two hits.
"He's good at [being ready for call-ups]," Brunette said of Dalpe, who has appeared in more than 150 games in the NHL and almost 400 in the AHL. "We had him when I was in Minnesota. He's capable and he's ready to do the job."
As for those aforementioned injuries, Brunette announced in his pre-game media availability that Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell are both considered day-to-day while dealing with upper-body injuries. Additionally, Joe Thornton and Lundell were placed on the injured reserve list.
Follow @JamesonCoop on Twitter for updates throughout the upcoming week.

5. TIME TO REST

Speaking of the week ahead, the Panthers will finally get a few days to rest their paws.
After enjoying a well-deserved day off on Sunday, the team will then have several days of practice to get warmed up before hosting the Capitals at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
"It's good for us," Barkov said of the break. "It's been a while since the last back-to-back game. Kind of feel a little tired now. It's fun to play games, win games and play hard like we do. It's a lot of fun, so you want to keep it going. But at the same time you want to be fresh too."
Already off to their best start in franchise history, the Panthers are far from done.
"We're moving forward," Brunette said. "We have a few days here to regroup a little bit."