5 TAKEAWAYS: Hurricanes 6, Panthers 4

SUNRISE, Fla. --The Florida Panthers showed a lot of fight in their regular-season finale.
Despite facing a daunting 5-2 deficit with just 2:40 remaining in regulation, the Panthers kept on pushing during an eventual 6-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
"We've shown that for a couple years now," Panthers forward Anthony Duclair said. "We never give up no matter what the score is. It's nice to see that even in Game 82 we've still got that fight. We're gearing up for the playoffs here. We're not taking anything for granted."
Ending the season on a 6-1-1 run, the Panthers will enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and face the Boston Bruins, who captured the top seed, in Round 1.
"It's the right challenge for us this year," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "So exciting. Such a monumental challenge. That's where you want to be in the NHL. You want to be in the big game."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. SASHA'S SNIPE

Aleksander Barkov's wrister is ready for the playoffs.
Showing off his scoring touch in Game 82, the superstar captain got the Panthers on the board in the second period when he collected a drop pass from Sam Reinhart and quickly fired a laser from near the top of the left circle past Frederik Andersen to cut the deficit down to 2-1 at 1:14.

Ending the regular season on a heater, Barkov cracked the scoresheet in seven of his last eight games, racking up 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in that stretch. Despite missing time due a mix of injuries and illness, he still finished second on Florida in points this campaign with 78.
Looking ahead to Round 1 of the playoffs, Barkov is certainly one of the top players to keep an eye on as he tallied two goals and four assists in three games against the Bruins this season.

2. BIG GAME FOR THE LOMBERGHINI

You just knew Ryan Lomberg was going to score on Fan Appreciation Night.
Feeding off the home crowd after Barkov broke the ice, the Lomberghini tied the game for the Panthers a little over two minutes later when he collected a perfect pass from Radko Gudas and fired a laser of a shot past Andersen from the slot to make it 2-2 at 3:33 of the third period.

"We know we're capable of coming back," Lomberg said. "It's unfortunate we weren't able to claw back all the way there, but there's a tremendous amount of fight in this room."
Doing a little bit of everything against the Hurricanes, Lomberg finished with three shots on goal, five hits and three blocked shots over 14:11 of ice time. Taking another step forward in 2022-23, the 28-year-old bolt of energy set new career-highs marks in both goals (12) and points (20).
Showing off his durability, he was one of sixth Panthers to play in all 82 games this season.

3. GUDAS GETS IT DONE

That sweet dish to set up Lomberg's goal was just one of many highlights for Gudas.
Matching a career-high with three assists against the Hurricanes, the bruising defenseman finished with the most helpers he's had in a game since Oct. 10, 2018. Thanks to those three assists, he also finished with 17 points on the season -- his best year in a Panthers uniform.
But, of course, a man nicknamed "The Butcher" is defined by more than just points.
In addition to playing strong defense alongside Josh Mahura all season long, Gudas finished as Florida's hits leader for the third consecutive season. Finishing second in the NHL, he recorded a team-high 312 hits in 2022-23, including racking up a 10 against the Hurricanes.
Since joining the Panthers in 2020-21, Gudas leads the NHL with 917 hits.

4. DUKE FEELS GOOD

Duclair is heading into the playoffs on a high note.
Feeling more comfortable in his 20th game since returning from offseason surgery, the speedy forward found the back of the net in the regular-season finale. Flying down the ice, he fired a one-timer into the twine in transition to cut Florida's deficit to 5-3 at 17:48 of the third period.
Since getting back in the lineup, he's posted two goals and seven assists.

"It's nice to see that one go in," Duclair said. "Hopefully the floodgates will open here."
Looking ahead to the playoffs, Duclair believes the current line he's on -- which also features Lomberg and Eric Staal -- can use their speed and grit to do some damage against Boston.
"Me, Lombo and Staalsy there are playing a good game," Duclair said. "We're playing a fast game. I like what we bring to the table. We're going to be ready for Game 1 here."

5. CHUCKY'S HISTORIC SEASON

Now that Game 82 is in the books, let's take a quick look back at a wild season for No. 19.
Finishing with the best season by a player in their first season with the Panthers, Matthew Tkachuk led the team with a career-high 109 points (40 goals, 69 assists). Deserving of a place among the Hart Trophy finalists, 12 of those points came over the final seven games for Florida.
He also set franchise records for multi-point games (34) and three-point games (14).
"If you would've told me that at Game 50 or even Game 60 or Game 70 that we'd be in this position, I'd happily take it," Tkachuk said when asked about clinching a spot in the playoffs.
While there will be plenty of time in the offseason to dive further into Tkachuk's impressive numbers and accolades from his first season with the Panthers, we're not quite there yet. With the action only starting to heat up, the superstar forward is eager to get to Boston for Game 1.
"They're the best regular-season team in history," Tkachuk said when asked about the impending seven-game series against the Bruins. "We have a chance to do something very, very special. It's going to take a lot of preparation and a lot of execution."