5 TAKEAWAYS: Flyers 6, Panthers 3

PHILADELPHIA -- After clawing their way back into a playoff spot, the Panthers saw their point streak snapped at seven games with a 6-3 loss to the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday.
Sitting at 36-28-7, the Panthers, who are 6-1-1 since March 4, hold a one-point lead over the Penguins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with one more game played.
"We learn from it and we move on," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said.
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. A SECOND-PERIOD LAPSE

The Panthers were the better team for the majority of game against the Flyers.
Coming out flying in the first period, they went on to finish the game with lopsided advantages in both shot attempts (84-39) and scoring chances (45-25), according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
But within a span of just over two minutes in the second period -- 2:01, to be exact -- things got away from them in a hurry as the Flyers capitalized on several defensive lapses by the Panthers.
After Scott Laughton got behind the defense and beat Alex Lyon on essentially a shootout-style shot to put the Flyers up 3-2 at 16:54, Travis Sanheim, crashing the net after a drive from Noah Cates caused Lyon to lose his paddle, jammed in a loose puck to make it 4-2 at 18:05.
Capping off the scoring spree, Ivan Provorov slipped down from the blue line, collected a cross-ice pass from Tyson Foerster and scored off his backhand from in front to make it 5-2 at 18:55.
In many ways, those three goals summed up Philadelphia's approach throughout the game. They were opportunistic and made the Panthers pay for their mistakes. They also found time and space around the net. Despite finishing with just 39 shot attempts, 15 of them were high-danger.
"I think at this point of the year, no matter how tired you are, you figure it out," defenseman Brandon Montour said of the team's lapse in the second period. "You try to make the right plays, but they beared down on their chances there and we couldn't come back."

2. MONTOUR ON A ROLL

Montour had a hand in two of three goals for the Panthers.
After beating Carter Hart from a sharp angle to the right of the net to make it a 2-2 game at 14:17 of the second period, the breakout defenseman earned the secondary assist on Reinhart's power-play goal in the third period that trimmed Florida's deficit to 5-3 at 13:49.

"We're not going to win every game," Montour said. "It's obviously a team that's on the outside. We want that one back, but we lost that one and we'll move on to the next. That's our mindset."
His fifth multi-point game in his last eight outings, Montour leads all Panthers defensemen in goals (13), assists (47) and points (60). All of those totals are also career-high marks. With just three more points, he'll own the franchise record for most points in a season by a defenseman.
As it stands now, Keith Yandle holds that record with 62 points in 2018-19.

3. REINHART ON THE CHARGE

Flames are erupting from Reinhart's stick right now.
Extending is point streak to six games, "Reino" took over the team lead in power-play goals when he cut Florida's deficit to 5-3 at 13:49 of the third period with his 13th goal on the man advantage of 2022-23.

"We move on and we get ready for the next one," Reinhart said after the loss.
Netting six goals during his streak, Reinhart currently ranks third on the Panthers with 27 goals, which is the second-best total of his career. After notching a career-high 33 goals last season, he now has a good chance to post consecutive 30-goal campaigns for the first time in his career.
Since the start of 2021-22, Reinhart is tied for seventh in the NHL in power-play goals (29).

4. KEY PIECES MISSING

The Panthers were missing multiple key pieces against the Flyers.
Sam Bennett sat out the game with an injury suffered on Monday in Detroit, while Anthony Duclair was a late scratch due to an illness. Additionally, Sergei Bobrovsky finally got a day off after starting each of the previous 13 games, including manning the crease in the Motor City less than 24 hours earlier.
In 40 games this season, Bennett, who centers the second line, has logged 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists). In nine games since making his season debut after undergoing offseason surgery to repair an Achilles tendon injury, Duclair has amassed four points (one goal, three assists).
With Duclair in the lineup, Florida owns a 6-2-1 record.
"Those are two good players and you're going to miss them, but we had by far enough offense to win that hockey game," head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about missing Bennett and Duclair. "We were loose at times defensively, but not to the point of giving up 40 shots. They finished on the ones they had a chance on. We spent most of the time in their end of the ice and their guy made a whole bunch of saves. We lost the game, we leave it here, and we move on."
Updates on both Bennett and Duclair are expected to come on Thursday.

5. HART OF THE FLYERS

If not for Hart, the Panthers likely would've rolled over the Flyers early on.
Finishing with 41 saves, the 24-year-old goaltender turned aside 18 of 19 shots in the first period to give the Flyers time to settle in before making their move in the second period.
Facing 14 high-danger shots throughout the game, Hart stopped 12 of them.
"Some of those saves were hard saves and they were quick-reaction saves," Maurice said. "He was fantastic tonight."
A thorn in the side of the Panthers, Hart has posted a 2-0-0 record while gobbling up 89 of 95 shots for a .937 save percentage in two starts against Florida in 2022-23. Prior to this season, he'd gone 2-4-0 against the Panthers while averaging more than three goals allowed per tilt.
"We had our chances in the third," Montour said. "Their goalie was good tonight."