5 TAKEAWAYS: In Battle of NHL's Best, Panthers Hand Hurricanes 1st Loss

SUNRISE, Fla. -The history speaks for itself.
In first-ever battle between two teams with dueling point streaks of at least nine games to start the season, the Panthers rushed out to a 4-0 lead in an eventual 5-2 victory over the previously undefeated Hurricanes to keep their amazing point streak alive at FLA Live Arena on Saturday.
Earning 21 of a possible 22 points right out of the gate, the Panthers, who improved to 10-0-1, have now matched the 1994-95 Pittsburgh Penguins and 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres as the only three teams in the league's long history to post that many points through their first 11 games.
Additionally, this is the fastest the Panthers have ever reached 10 wins in a season.

"I don't really think it was a statement game," Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette said, bringing us reporters back to earth. "There are none in November. They don't hand out trophies in November. But it was a good test for group. We responded to the challenge. It's something we're proud of, and we brought our A-game. I thought we dictated right off the bat."
Undeterred by the late scratch of captain Aleksander Barkov, who is reportedly suffering from a lower-body injury, the Panthers came out swinging against the Hurricanes. Matching a franchise record with four goals in the first period, three of those scores came by way of the power play.
Breaking the ice on the man advantage, Anthony Duclair took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe, settled the puck down and rifled a shot from inside the left circle past Frederik Andersen and into the top right corner of the cage to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead just 2:28 into the contest.
With the extra attacker on the ice once again later in the period, Frank Vatrano doubled the lead when he teed up a cross-ice feed from Brandon Montour and blasted a powerful one-timer right past Andersen, who was blinded by a pair of Panthers in front, to make it a 2-0 game at 10:02.
So new to the NHL he still doesn't even have a photo on the league's game center page, rookie Anton Lundell, who did a lot of heavy lifting in Barkov's absence at even-strength and on special teams, then maneuvered around a defender before burying a goal to up the lead to 3-0 at 13:14.
Capping off a 3-for-4 performance on the power play in the first period, Patric Hornqvist crashed toward the net and tapped in a pass through the slot from Sam Reinhart to make it 4-0 at 15:28. Prior to tonight's matchup, the Hurricanes hadn't surrendered more than three goals in a game.

"It's fun to see the growth in the group," Brunette said of the team's scoring outburst early on. "Obviously we were missing some guys, but that's an opportunity for other guys. Those guys really grabbed the opportunity. We played about as good a first period as we can play tonight."
To start the second period, Andersen, who entered the night leading the NHL in wins (8), goals-against average (1.50) and save percentage (.949%), was replaced by backup Antti Raanta.
Applying some pressure while on the attack early in the middle frame, Jesper Fast took a backdoor pass from Jaccob Slavin, dropped to one knee and rifled a one-timer from the slot past Spencer Knight to get Carolina on the board and trim Florida's lead down to 4-1 at 7:01.
That's when things really got interesting.
A little more than five minutes after Fast's tally, the Hurricanes received a five-minute power play after Ryan Lomberg collided with Raanta while chasing down a loose puck. Exiting the game after the collision, Raanta had come well out of his crease to try and play the rubber.
"On the call, anytime you run into the goalie you're going to be in a little bit of trouble," Brunette said. "Not sure about the five minutes. I thought he went for the puck. But, like I said, you run into the goalie, it's their discretion, they've got to protect players. They felt it was the right call."
Holding down the fort despite the controversial call, the Panthers managed to surrender just one goal on that ensuring five-minute penalty kill when Vincent Trocheck slipped in a shot from the doorstep to bring the Hurricanes back within just two goals and make it a 4-2 game at 15:20.
Given the circumstances, the Cats couldn't have asked for much more than that.
"Our response was excellent, as it was the whole game," Brunette said of the success on the penalty kill. "Lomby does a lot of things for a lot of guys on this team. They picked him up."
Closing out the game, Knight, who finished with 30 saves between the pipes, stood tall, while Duclair picked up his second goal and fourth point of the night when he cashed in on an empty net with 59 seconds left in regulation to lock in the 5-2 win over the Hurricanes, who fell to 9-1-0 and were forcibly denied their bid to become one of just three teams to start a season 10-0-0.
"It was pretty nice," Lundell said of the win. "We're home in front of your fans on a Saturday, so it was really fun to play. We had a good feeling from the start. We wanted to show how good a team we are. I think that was the key in the first period. Everyone was ready for the game."
Looking to push their point streak to 12 games, the Cats will visit the Rangers on Monday.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's win in Sunrise…

1. DUCLAIR BREAKS OUT

Even from the press box, you could tell Duclair was feeling it tonight.
In addition to breaking the ice and putting the Panthers up 1-0 with a snipe on the power play in the opening period, he also chipped in three assists to finish with a game-high four points.

"I feel pretty good," said Duclair, who was on a line with Eetu Luostarinen and Verhaeghe. "I think our whole line is feeling pretty good, our whole team. There's confidence. When everyone is playing well, it's much easier to come to the rink and have fun. We're all having fun right now."
Spreading out his scoring, Duclair, who leads the team and ranks tied for third in the NHL with eight goals, has lit the lamp in seven different games this season. Earning at least one point in each of his last six games, he currently ranks tied for first on Florida in scoring with 12 points.
"He's been a threat all season," Brunette said. "When he's using his speed and he's on the puck, and he's harder on pucks, he gets his opportunities. He probably could've had a few more, but he was great tonight."

2. POWER PLAY POTS THREE

The Panthers appear to be turning a corner on the power play.
After opening up the season 0-for-7 on the man advantage, they've scored at least one goal with the extra attacker in seven of nine games since, including a 3-for-5 performance tonight.

"We were just trying to find the seams and keep it simple," Duclair said of tonight's success on the power play. "They have some players that can be dangerous on the PK. … We had to make sure that we always had one or two guys back and make sure that we took care of the puck."
Since Oct. 25, Florida has gone 7-for-16 (43.8) with the man advantage. Still, Brunette thinks the team can be even better given the talent on both units.
"There's still some work for us to do there," he said. "We could be a lot smoother."

3. LUNDELL STEPS UP

With Barkov out of the lineup, his roommate stepped up.
In just his second game back after missing four games due to an injury, Lundell, who is living at Barkov's place in Boca Raton during his rookie season with the Panthers, not only centered the second line, but also played a key role all night long on both sides of the special teams battle.
Skating a career-high 18:54 -- including 2:23 on the power play and 4:46 on the penalty kill -- the former first-round pick notched a goal, two shots, two hits, one takeaway and three blocks.

"He's a heck of a player," Brunette said. "He stepped in, and it was a smooth transition. He's a really intelligent player. I thought he did a great job on the PK, stepped in and had a huge goal."
Overall, Lundell said he felt good sharing the ice with Jonathan Huberdeau and Owen Tippett.
"I really enjoyed it," he said. "I tried to give Huby a lot of pucks, and of course Tippy, too. They want to be with the puck, and I want to be with the puck. We had a good give-and-go play today. A lot of chances. We had one goal, but we could've had more. Our line created good chances."
In seven games this season, Lundell has recorded six points (three goals, three assists).

4. PENALTY KILL IS CLUTCH

Put in a precarious position, the Panthers held their ground.
Following the five-minute major penalty to Lomberg, they surrendered just one goal to Carolina's power play, which began the night as the fifth-ranked unit in the NHL (26.5%).
Over their five power plays tonight, the Hurricanes fired off just six shots on goal.
"It was really big tonight," Lundell said of the penalty kill's strong effort. "I think the second period was huge for us. Of course, Spencer was unbelievable. He helped us, too. He was a wall in the net there. A big help for us players today. We wanted to get the win and thank him."
At the time of this writing, Florida ranks seventh in the NHL with an 86.1% success rate on the penalty kill.

5. WHAT A KNIGHT

Knight continues to prove he's got ice in his veins.
Taking over the crease in the absence of injured starter Sergei Bobrovsky, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the 20-year-old rookie turned aside 30 of 32 shots against the Hurricanes, who entered the night averaging more than four goals per contest this season.
"We just battled," Knight said. "The D really stepped up big. Weegs and Monty had some big blocks. For me as a goalie, that's awesome to see. Everyone is buying in to finishing the job."
Sitting at 4-0-1 on the season with a .918 save percentage, Knight stopped all 12 shots he faced in the third period to shut the door on Carolina. Stalwart as usual under intense pressure, he also made seven high-danger saves throughout the game, according to NaturalStatTrick.com
"He's been great all year," Brunette said. "Again, for the kid, nothing surprises me. I'm not sure I've seen a kid at that age with that much composure and as good as he is. It's pretty impressive. Again, thrown into a tough situation and he handles himself admirably."
Also improving his career record to 8-0-1, Knight, the 13th-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, is now tied for the fourth-best point streak by a goalie to begin their career in the league's history.

BONUS: BARKOV UPDATE

After tonight's game, Brunett said Barkov is day-to-day.
"It just kind of flared up a little bit," Brunette said of Barkov's injury, which is being labeled as lower-body. "Thought he was ready to go, then it flared up again getting ready for the game."
In 12 games this season, Barkov has notched 12 points (seven goals, five assists).
"We all collectively as a group wanted to step up for him and keep the streak alive," Duclair said.
With the team off on Sunday, stay tuned for updates on the captain on Monday.