5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)

SUNRISE, Fla. --After trailing 2-0 entering the third period, the Florida Panthers clawed their way back to claim a big 4-3 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks at FLA Live Arena on Friday.
Improving to 33-27-6, Florida sits two points out of a playoff spot with 16 games left.
"They just relaxed a little bit and started to skate," head coach Paul Maurice said. "That's when good things started to happen. Good on 'em for finding the fire. These guys want to win so bad."
For a quick recap of the game, click
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To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. MONTY IS MONEY

Brandon Montour didn't want to overthink this one.
With the game on the line in overtime, Aleksander Barkov flipped a puck toward the net that managed to land perfectly flat right behind Montour. With no hesitation, Montour, without looking, then backhanded the puck through Petr Mrazek's five-hole to lock in the 4-3 win.

"Barky flipped it over to me," Montour said when asked to recall the highlight-reel goal. "I was thinking about maybe holding it and making a move, but thought maybe I could catch [Mrazek] off-guard. I haven't seen [the replay] yet, but I felt like I got a pretty good shot there."
His fourth game-winning goal of the season, Montour is now tied with Aaron Ekblad for the most game-winning goals in a season by a defenseman in franchise history. In the midst of a breakout season, Montour also leads the club's blueliners in goals (12), assists (41) and points (53).
As it stands now, his career-high 53 points rank eighth among NHL defensemen in 2022-23.
"We want to win so bad," Montour said. "When things are going bad or guys are tired, we just try to keep the energy levels up. It was a little quiet there, but I thought in the third period we gained it back. We have a good group here that wants to win."

2. BENNY BREAKS IT OPEN

You could feel a collective exhale in the arena when this goal was scored.
Getting the Panthers on the board in the third period, Sam Bennett took a slick feed from Matthew Tkachuk and beat Mrazek from on the doorstep to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 8:29.
Just like that, the comeback was on.

"We were looking for just that one little spark that we needed to get it going," Tkachuk said. "Fortunate enough that Benny got that one, and then we were able to roll from there."
Bringing the heat since getting returning from an injury that had kept him out of the lineup for roughly three weeks, Bennett has scored two goals in three games since getting back to work. In 59 games this season, the hard-nosed forward has logged 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists).
Against Chicago, Bennett also notched three hits, one blocked shot and six shots on goal.

3. REINO'S RE-DIRECT

From one Sam to another, the Panthers tied the game in the blink of an eye.
Just 29 seconds after Bennett's goal, Sam Reinhart made it 2-2 when he extended his stick and re-directed a point shot from Tkachuk into the net on the power play at 8:58 of the third period.

What that assist, Tkachuk picked up his team-high 83rd point of the season, which moved him past Reinhart (82 in 2021-22) for the most points by a player in their first season with Florida.
"I thought we did a good job in the third," said Tkachuk, who finished with three primary assists in the win. "Even on the first couple power plays I think we were hearing some boos out there, but then we happened to turn it around there and heard some cheers at the end."
As for Reinhart, he's now tied with Tkachuk for the most power-play goals on the Panthers this season with 10. Since joining the Panthers prior to the start of the 2021-22 season, Reinhart has scored a team-high 26 goals on the man advantage.
At 5-on-5 against Chicago, Florida led 24-5 in shot attempts when Reinhart was deployed.

4. A SWEET FINNISH

The Luostarenaissance rolls on!
Netting his third goal in the last five games, Eetu Luostarinen settled down a pass and ripped a shot over Mrazek's glove from the slot to put the Panthers up 3-2 at 12:42 of the third period.

"Chucky made a good play in the slot," Luostarinen said. "I just got it through to the net."
Playing all over the lineup this season, Luostarinen, who has been spending a lot of time on the top line as of late, is in the midst of the hottest stretch of his young career. Over his last 14 games, he's tallied 14 points (six goals, eight assist) while averaging 16:46 of ice time per tilt.
Having already blown past his previous career-high point total of 26 points from 2021-22, the 24-year-old forward is currently building upon career-high marks in goals (16), assists (20) and points (36) this season, while also leading the Panthers in plus/minus at +21.
When Luostarinen was on the ice at 5-on-5 against the Blackhawks, the Panthers owned sizeable advantages in shot attempts (23-7), shots on goal (14-3) and scoring chances (15-1).
"Everybody chipped in," Luostarinen said. "I think we all believed even when we were down 2-0. We kept working, and it paid off in the third."

5. KILLING 'EM SOFTLY

If not for some strong penalty killing, the Panthers likely would've never made their comeback.
Going a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill -- including killing off 40 seconds of a 5-on-3 in the first period -- the Panthers limited Chicago's power play to just three shots on goal in the game.
Keeping things very clean around Sergei Bobrovsky's crease, the Panthers surrendered just two high-danger shot attempts on the penalty kill, while also managing to record one of their own.
Stepping up while shorthanded, Eric Staal (5:22), Barkov (4:35), Luostarinen (4:57), Aaron Ekblad (6:05), Gustav Forsling (6:11), Radko Gudas (5:05) and Marc Staal (4:09) all spent ample time on the penalty kill for the Panthers.
Helping keep the deficit at 2-0, Florida had two major kills in the second period.
"The penalty kill was really good in the second," Maurice said.