5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 5, Wild 3

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers keep on rolling.
Improving to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, the Panthers received some timely goals and top-notch goaltending during a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild at FLA Live Arena on Saturday.
Sitting at 23-20-5, Florida currently sits just two points out of a playoff spot.
"Confidence] is very high for the team," Panthers forward Anton Lundell said. "We're all very happy, having fun, and leaving it all on the ice. We don't have to think about anything else than one game ahead."
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. LUNDELL HEATING UP

Lundell could get used to life on the wing.
With roughly 13 seconds left on the clock in the first period, the young Finn opened the scoring for the Panthers when he received a pass from Aleksander Barkov near the top of the crease, turned around and fired a quick shot through Filip Gustavsson's five-hole to make it 1-0.

"It feels good," Lundell said when asked about playing with Barkov and Sam Reinhart. "We all like to play smart. We don't like to just give up the puck. We like to play with the puck, play with give-and-go's. It feels like we all think the same way. It makes it even more easier to play."
In seven games since being put together, Reinhart, Barkov and Lundell have combined for 26 points, with all three players lighting the lamp three times. With Lundell being given the green light to let it rip, he ranks third on the Panthers with 24 shots on goal during that hot stretch.
"They're good in both ends of the ice, and most of what they create isn't lucky, it's smart," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of the team's new top line. "They can replicate that. Things don't have to go their way to produce. They just do the right things, the smart things, and then they make those good hand plays at the very end, but their game is right."
In 39 games this season, Lundell has logged 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists).

2. A NEW BENCHMARK

Eetu Luostarinen has entered uncharted territory.
Turning defense into offense like he's already done so many times this season, the 24-year-old forward doubled the Panthers lead to 2-0 in the second period when he swiped the puck away from a Wild skater in the offensive zone before beating Gustavsson with slick backhand shot.
Setting a new career-high, the goal was his 10th of the season.

Playing up and down the lineup this season, Luostarinen has become an important do-it-all player for the Panthers. After recording a career-high 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 2021-22, he's poised to blow past that total with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) already this campaign.
Additionally, his 29 takeaways -- including his sweet swipe that set up his goal against Minnesota -- are second to only Sam Bennett (30) and Barkov (30) on the Panthers.

3. ALL THAT POWER

Another game, another power-play goal for the Panthers.
With Carter Verhaeghe's snipe in the second period, the Panthers have now scored on the power play in nine of their last 11 games. During that hot stretch -- which began back on Jan. 1 -- they've gone 15-for-36 with the man advantage for a league-best 41.7% success rate in that span.

In those 11 games, Matthew Tkachuk and Reinhart are tied for first on the Panthers with eight power-play points. Tkachuk, who will represent Florida at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game, also leads the team with four power-play goals, while five other skaters have scored at least one.
As for Verhaeghe, his stick has been on fire as of late.
Touching twine in three of his last four games, the 27-year-old sniper has pushed his goal total on the season to 22. That total not only places him behind only Tkachuk on the Panthers in goals this season, but is also just two fewer than the career-high 24 that he scored in 2021-22.
Of Verhaeghe's 22 goals, five have come on the power play.

4. STEPPING UP ON D

The Panthers were in a precarious position on defense for much of this game.
After losing Aaron Ekblad just a few shifts into the first period, Gustav Forsling exited the game for an extended period of time after crashing into the opposing net on a breakaway attempt during the second. While Forsling returned for the third period, Ekblad (upper body) did not.
"I think we just have that next-man-up mentality," Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura said. "You can't feel sorry for yourselves. Whoever's on the ice, we expect to be playing the right way and playing our game. We got some great goaltending tonight and some key goals."
Coming together to share the burden on the back end, Radko Gudas skated 25:34, Marc Staal skated 23:10, Mahura skated 19:18, Forsling skated 21:59 and Brandon Montour, despite serving a 10-minute misconduct penalty in the third period, skated a team-high 25:51.
At 5-on-5, Florida's defense limited the Wild to 21 shots on goal.

5. THE LYON KING

Alex Lyon proved his Panthers debut on Thursday was no fluke.
After making 23 saves in relief in a win over the Canadiens, the 30-year-old goaltender turned aside 29 of 32 shots against the Wild, including stopping all 21 shots that he faced at 5-on-5.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Lyon also made 10 high-danger stops against Minnesota.
"I feel like my game's been in a good spot," said Lyon, who's gone 2-0-0 with a .912 save percentage since being called up from the AHL on Jan. 10. "I feel like the way I play meshes well with the way the team tries to play. Same train of thought, just try not to think about it too much and keep moving forward."
While Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight aren't expected to miss much more time, Lyon has provided the Panthers with a pivotal boost during an incredibly important stretch this season.
"A battler," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Lyon. "His personality is what you see in the net. He's scrambling, he's fighting for pucks. Every time he makes a save, the bench goes crazy. It seems to be right now very possibly the energy we need is a guy like that playing the way he's playing. We're looking for anywhere we can to get some juice, some fuel in the tank. He seems to be driving that. Every time he makes a save, the bench goes nuts and we get fired up."