5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 6, Bruins 3

BOSTON -- The Panthers are heading back to South Florida full of confidence are snatching home ice away from the Bruins with a 6-3 win in Game 2 of their best-of-seven playoff series at TD Garden on Wednesday.
With the Round 1 series tied 1-1, Games 3 and 4 will be played at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.
"Belief is definitely there," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "The belief has always been there. We knew it was going to be such a tough task. To sit there and just give away the series at the beginning of it, that's not how we roll."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. BENNETT'S BACK

Sam Bennett didn't skip a beat in his return to the lineup.
Back in action for the first time since suffering an undisclosed injury on March 20, the grizzled center made his presence felt from the moment the puck dropped and, very fittingly, opened the scoring for the Panthers in the second period with a hard-working goal to make it 1-0.

No surprises here.
"Everyone expected that," defenseman Brandon Montour said. "He's a dangerous player, especially in the playoffs. He plays the right way. He plays hard. It was great to see him back."
Seemingly not limited at all in his first game back, Bennett saw 16:15 of ice time, including 1:29 on the power play and 48 seconds on the penalty kill. After leading all Panthers forwards with 150 hits during the regular season, he picked up right where he left off with three hits in Game 2.
In fact, it was one of those hits that helped lead to Carter Verhaeghe's goal that made it 4-2.
"It felt great," Bennett said of his return. "It's always tough when you're out for a while. It was tough watching Game 1 from the press box. It felt great to get right back in there."

2. THE NO.9 EFFECT

For as important as Bennett is on his own, his impact on those around him can't be understated.
After finding great success together during the regular season, it didn't take long for Bennett to end up back on a line with Verhaeghe and Tkachuk in Game 2. Over the 7:21 that line was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Panthers led 7-4 in shot attempts, 4-2 in scoring chances and 2-0 in goals.
During the regular season, Florida outscored opponents 23-12 with that trio deployed, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

"I think we've got a little bit of everything on that line," Bennett said. "Swaggy plays with all that speed and Chucky's one of the best in the league at controlling pucks down low and in front of the net. It's really easy to work with two guys with different skillsets. They're unbelievable."
But those two weren't the only ones that benefitted from No.9's return. Prior to the lines being shaken up, Bennett skated 3:48 with Tkachuk and Eetu Luostarinen. In that span, the Panthers led 6-1 in shots on goal and controlled a wild 96.45% of all expected goals at 5-on-5.
"Tkachuk's had a career year. Luostarinen's had a career year. Verhaeghe's had a career year. All three of those guys have played with Sam Bennett for the better part of the year," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Bennett's impact. "That's his strength. He drives the play."

3. MONTOUR IS MONEY

Montour has brought his record-setting ways into the playoffs.
After setting new franchise-best marks for assists (57) and points (73) by a defenseman during the regular season, the breakout blueliner led the Panthers with a pair of key goals in Game 2.
Making history -- again -- he's the first Panthers D-man with multiple goals in a playoff game.
"Guys built off [Game 1] and competed," Montour said. "We played the right way and protected each other at the end. That was a heck of a game. Now we'll build on that."

Montour's first goal also had a little bit of extra history. With the action at 4-on-4, he set a new franchise record for the fastest goal to open a period in a playoff game when he fired the puck past a screened Linus Ullmark to put the Panthers up 3-2 just 22 seconds into the third.
"Nice 4-on-4," Montour said. "We've got to two [great] players up front there that found me. Barky screened the goalie and I just had to get it through. It was nice to see that one go in."
With two goals, Montour is also tied for the most-career playoff goals by a Cats defenseman.

4. LYON FEELS GOOD

Bruins fans thought they were going to rattle Alex Lyon with jeers.
Instead, they only fired him up.
"It was fun," Lyon said with a grin. "I really enjoy playing in that atmosphere. It's fun for me. I get energized. It was just a good time. I'm happy we got the win. Very talented, very good opponent. Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. I think that's where our focus has to be."
After making 26 saves in Game 1, Lyon turned aside 34 of 37 shots to earn the first playoff win of his career in Game 2. Giving the Panthers time to put themselves in a position to pounce later in the game, the 30-year-old netminder stopped all 12 shots that came his way in the first period.
Of his 34 total saves, NaturalStatTrick.com labeled seven of them as high danger.
"The way he's come in and handled himself has settled our whole team down," Tkachuk said. "He's given us a chance to win each and every night. He's the unsung hero and the reason why we're in the playoffs. You can go down the list of what he's been able to do with us."
While it's hard to just choose one highlight, Lyon's arguably most-critical sequence of the entire game came when he denied Pavel Zacha on two consecutive point-blank chances from right on the doorstep to keep the game tied 2-2 with under 20 seconds left in the second period.
"I worked really hard in Game 1 to be comfortable," Lyon said. "You just don't know because you've never been in this situation before. Today I felt much more comfortable. It's all hands on deck right now. We have 48 hours until we're back. We're going to start getting prepared."

5. SHIFTING TO SOFLA

Like Lyon said, the Panthers don't have too much time to relish their win.
With the series now shifting to South Florida, the Panthers will begin their defense of home ice when they host the Bruins for Game 3 of on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.
In their history, the Panthers have gone 3-3 in playoff series they've started 1-1.
"In a perfect world it would've been great to steal two, but after Game 1 this was all that was on our mind," Tkachuk said of grabbing home ice from Boston. "We've put ourselves in a position where we have home ice right now, and it's about hanging on to it as long as possible."
Closing out the regular season strong in their own barn, the Panthers went 7-3-2 while averaging 3.83 goals per contest over their final 12 games at FLA Live Arena leading into the postseason.
If you ask any player in the locker room, they'll tell you the home crowd makes a difference.
"It's a little bit kind of like a Christmas exchange," Maurice said. "The team brings the gift of playoff to the fans, and the fans bring the gift of energy to your team. They're so excited. There's a great connection that happens between fans and players in the playoffs. I'm looking forward to that in Game 3]."
For tickets, click
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