5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 4, Sharks 1

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Climbing back to within one point of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Florida Panthers secured a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
Improving to 26-22-6, the Panthers have won each of their last three games.
In two games since returning from the All-Star break, they've outscored the opposition 11-2.
"We know we need to get on a bit of a run here," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. "We've got to take care of home ice, especially with all of the opportunities we have ahead of us."
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. REINO ATTACKS

Sam Reinhart had the hot stick against San Jose.
Finding the back of the net twice, Reinhart first helped the Panthers exhale in the second period when he took a stretch pass from Marc Staal, skated into the center of the right circle and beat Kaapo Kahkonen with a sizzling short-side shot to wipe the slate clean and make it a 1-1 game.

"I thought it settled the game for us, and then we could relax a little bit," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "Our overall game improved quite a bit from that point on."
Later in the middle frame, Reinhart struck again when he skated into the slot and re-directed a sweet feed from Eetu Luostarinen, who was falling to the ice as the puck left his stick, straight through Kahkonen's five-hole and into the net to make it 2-1 at 19:19.
"I was going over to support him on the wall," said Reinhart, eyes growing wide as he recalled the crazy play. "I thought he had missed it. Then he made a heck of a play to get it to me in front."
Sitting third on the Panthers with 19 goals in 2022-23, Reinhart has been on a really nice scoring run as of late. Over his last eight games, he's lit the lamp six times, with two of those goals ending up as game-winners. Additionally, of those six goals, four of them have come at even-strength.
In both of Florida's wins against San Jose this season, Reinhart has scored the winner.

2. LUOSTY STEPS UP

Even with some big skates to fill, Luostarinen stepped up in a big way.
Centering Florida's top line in place of injured captain Aleksander Barkov, Luostarinen dished out a pair primary assists and finished with a +3 rating against the Sharks. Skating 17:37, the 24-year-old forward also notched two takeaways, one block and won 55.6% of his faceoffs.

"He's such a smart player," Reinhart said. "I don't know many guys in this league that are going to fill in for Barky, but his game has really elevated this year. Just his composure out there. Offensively he's making a lot of plays, and defensively he's always kind of had that game."
Spending most of the matchup tasked with shutting down San Jose's top line of Noah Gregor, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier, Luostarinen, along with Anton Lundell and Reinhart, helped limit that trio to a paltry nine shot attempts and six shots on goal over 10:22 of ice time at 5-on-5.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Luostarinen's line controlled 58.06% of shot attempts at 5-on-5.
Taking another step forward this season, Luostarinen has already set a new career-high mark in goals (11) and is also just one point away from matching the career-high 26 he tallied in 2021-22.
"He's going to get stronger and faster, but at a young age his reads are excellent," Maurice said.

3. CLOSING IT OUT

The Panthers found themselves in a precarious position late in regulation.
With the Panthers holding a slim 2-1 lead with 4:52 left on the clock, the Sharks gained a four-minute power play after Meier was high-sticked. But rather than panic, the Panthers buckled down and played their way to possibly one of their most-impressive finishes of the campaign.
Shortly after the Panthers killed off the first half of the double-minor, the Sharks pulled their goalie to gain a 6-on-4 advantage. Coming up in the clutch, Luostarinen then forced a turnover in the neutral zone before setting up Eric Staal for an empty-net goal to make it 3-1 at 18:21.

At 18:55, Staal added another shorthanded empty-netter to lock in the 4-1 win.
Since Staal returned to the lineup on Jan. 27 after missing a few games with an upper-body injury, Florida has gone 11-for-11 on the penalty kill while scoring two shorthanded goals.
"He's a veteran guy, so he knows what he's doing," Luostarinen said of Staal, who is just the fourth player in franchise history to score two shorthanded goals in a game. "He talks a lot. It's a big help from him."

4. STAAL STAYS HOT

Speaking of Staal, the 38-year-old veteran continues to turn back the clock.
In addition to his two shorthanded goals, he posted four shots on goal, one hit and two takeaways against the Sharks. Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the Panthers led 20-13 in shot attempts and 10-6 in scoring chances when he was deployed at 5-on-5.

After not playing in the NHL last season, Staal has produced 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in 44 games in 2022-23. Finding ways to consistently crack the scoresheet from the bottom-six for a while now, he's logged 10 points (seven goals, three assists) over his last 14 contests.
"I was pretty happy with how I was playing early on, but I just wasn't rewarded with any points or goals," Staal said. "When you get those to go into the back of the net, your confidence continues to grow and you feel better about your game. As the year goes on, you've just got to get better."
Staal's 451 career goals are the fifth-most among active NHL players.

5. BOB'S MILESTONE

Sergei Bobrovsky has joined some elite company.
By turning aside 33 of 34 shots against the Sharks, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner picked up the 350th win of his career, becoming just the 25th goalie in NHL history to reach that lofty mark.

"It's definitely great," Bobrovsky said. "I've been fortunate to play with great teammates and great coaches. It's definitely a big achievement, but at the moment you focus on one moment at a time. … You stay with the moment and prepare for the next moment."
Especially strong early on, Bobrovsky stopped 14 shots in the first period.
"Bobby made some big saves in the first to keep us in it and allow us to get our feet under us," Reinhart said. "I liked our game from there on."
Knocked out of the lineup on Jan. 19 with a lower-body injury, Bobrovsky has been on fire in his first two games since returning to the crease. Leading the Panthers to wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning and Sharks, he's turned aside 28 of the 29 high-danger shots that he faced over those two contests.
Over his last 16 appearances, Bobrovsky has gone 9-5-1 with a .920 save percentage.
"He got back to that compete," Maurice said. "He's not scrambling in the net, he's fighting in the net. He's getting across the post and making some huge saves. I thought he had more work tonight than he did against Tampa, and more critical work because the game was tight."