5 TAKEAWAYS: Oilers 4, Panthers 3 (OT)

EDMONTON -- Leaving an extra point on the table, the Florida Panthers opened up their five-game road trip with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Monday.
With the Oilers trailing 3-2 late in the third period, Evan Bouchard scored with 4.4 seconds left in regulation to get the game to overtime. Just 22 seconds into the extra frame, Leon Draisaitl took a pass from Connor McDavid on a 2-on-1 and scored to lock in the win for Edmonton.
Still getting a point, the Panthers sit at 10-8-4 in the standings.
"It was a good game," Panthers forward Anton Lundell said. "Of course, a tight game, tough loss, but there's always something we can improve. Now we take the good things with us and try to improve a little bit on those things that we can be even better at."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. POINTS FOR TKACHUK

Oilers fans are probably happy they only see Matthew Tkachuk twice a season now.
Treated to a chorus of boos from the home crowd every time he touched the puck, Tkachuk responded to that not-so-warm welcome by opening the scoring for the Panthers early in the first period when he chipped his own rebound past Stuart Skinner to make it a 1-0 contest.

I guess you can take the man out of Alberta, but you can't take the battle out of the man.
"It's been constant since warmups," Tkachuk chuckled during the first intermission. "I know these guys very well and know this building very well. It's nice to come back here."
Adding an assist later in the game, Tkachuk increased his team-leading point total to 29 (10 goals, 19 assists). Per NHL PR, those 29 points are the most-ever by a Panther through their first 20 games in a season. Over his last seven games, he has five multi-point performances.
In 30 career games against Edmonton, Tkachuk has posted 10 goals and 15 assists.

2. OILERS STARS SHINE

Edmonton's two biggest stars led the charge against the Panthers.
Combining for four points (two goals, two assists), McDavid and Draisaitl's hands were all over the win. After dishing out the primary assist on Bouchard's late game-tying goal, McDavid set up Draisaitl for the game-winning goal in overtime with a pass on a 2-on-1 break.
"They're a lot to handle, and they got going," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of the dangerous duo. "They got them the lead, tied the game and won the game for them."
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the top line of McDavid, Draisaitl and Zach Hyman led the Oilers in both scoring chances (8) and shot attempts (13) at 5-on-5 against the Panthers.
"I think we played really good with two of the best players in the world against us," Lundell said. "I think we played a lot better than [last game]. It's two good teams and so close, four seconds left. Overall, I think it was a good effort and a good game for us."

3. BIG NIGHT ON THE PK

The Panthers did a great job when down a man in Edmonton.
With the Oilers entering the matchup owning the second-ranked power play in the NHL at 29.3%, the Panthers went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill, including killing off a long 5-on-3 in the first period.
"We've seen enough 5-on-3 to last us a year," Maurice said. "Great blocks, great kills, great saves. The penalty kill was up to the task."
Over the course of those five power plays, the Panthers held Edmonton to seven shots on goal.
"When you get rolling on any special team it's nice," said Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who saw a team-high 4:29 of shorthanded ice time in the game. "The power play found a way to get one tonight, and obviously pretty happy with the PK, but in the end not enough."
Since Nov. 6, Florida ranks ninth in the NHL with an 81.6% success rate on the penalty kill.

4. KNIGHT'S BIG SAVES

Under duress for much of the game, Spencer Knight thrived under the pressure.
Turning aside 36 shots in Edmonton, the 21-year-old goaltender looked nearly unbeatable at times while coming up in the clutch with 12 high-danger stops, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
"He's unreal," Ekblad said. "He's a gamer."
Over his last seven appearances, Knight owns a .921 save percentage.
"Spence was good today again," Lundell said. "Without him, we would've been in big trouble. Overall, we need to help Spencer a little more, but it's important to have a goalie that's hot."
One of Knight's most-impressive sequences during the game came in the first period when he turned aside back-to-back shots on the penalty kill, including a really quality look from McDavid.
Check out the tweet below to see those stops.

5. LUNDELL HEATING UP

Lundell is really starting to settle into a groove on offense.
Tying things up for the Panthers in the third period, the 21-year-old forward deftly directed a sweet pass from Sam Reinhart past Skinner from the slot in stride to make it a 2-2 contest.
Catching fire, he extended his goal streak to a career-high three games.

Overall, Maurice has said that he's really liked what he's seen from the duo of Lundell and Reinhart. Over the 112:58 of ice time they've shared together at 5-on-5 this season, the Panthers have led 132-94 in shot attempts and 5.19-3.91 in expected goals, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
"I just try to keep working hard," said Lundell, who racked up 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) as a rookie in 2021-22. "I believe that when we create enough chances that we'll get the goals at some point."