5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 7, Canadiens 2

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Hitting the ground running coming out of the holiday break, the Florida Panthers rode a first-period hat trick from captain Aleksander Barkov to a convincing 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
With the win, Florida improved to 16-16-4 in the standings.
"I think we played exactly how we wanted," said Barkov, who returned to the lineup after missing the final three games before the break with a lower-body injury. "Keep playing that way and keep building every game. Just keep playing the right way."
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. BARKOV'S BIG GAME

Why tip your cap when you can throw it?
Sending a flurry of flat brims flying to the ice, Barkov returned to the lineup in epic fashion by scoring three times in the first period against the Canadiens for the fourth hat trick of his career.
After a shot from Gustav Forsling deflected off Barkov and in to open the scoring, the captain added two more soon after. Not long after he wired home a laser of a wrist shot on the power play, he finished off his hat trick by burying a backhand from in close to put the Cats up 3-1.

"It feels like I got some bounces there," Barkov said when asked about his incredible first-period production in the win. "Playing with really good players, they're going to find me. That's about it."
With his strike on the power play, Barkov also surpassed Scott "Mr. Rat Trick" Mellanby for the most power-play goals in franchise history with his 67th career tally on the man advantage.
"I was drafted by this organization and have been here since Day 1," said Barkov, the second-overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. "It's great to still be here. This is the place I want to be, so it means a lot to me be on any record list or anything. I'm really honored."

2. HATS OFF

Barkov's hat trick had a little history to it.
While he became one of six players in franchise history to score three goals in a single period, no player had ever achieved the feat faster to start a game. Completing his hat trick within the first 15:22 of the first period, he bested Steve Reinprecht's previous franchise record of 15:49.
"When you get him in the lineup, it obviously gives us a huge boost," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "He's one of the best players in the world."
Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, Barkov also became the NHL's second player to score a hat trick within the opening 16 minutes of a game this season, joining Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson, who struck three times within the first 12:22 back on Dec. 7.
Adding two more assists later on, Barkov earned the second five-point game of his career.
"He just changes all parts of your game," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about Barkov's impact. "Take the five points aside, he's still going to take the faceoffs on the power play and faceoffs on the penalty kill that are critical. He keeps the minutes down for everybody so there's more energy off the bench. He's such a dynamic man."

3. TKACHUK GETS TWO

Florida's game plan on the power play? Get the puck to Matthew Tkachuk!
Setting up shop in his usual spot right around the net, Tkachuk put the Panthers up 4-2 at 6:22 of the second period when he tipped a shot from Brandon Montour past Sam Montembeault. At 7:24 of the third period, he then buried a rebound on the power play to make it 6-2.

"I think he was raised right to be at the net," Barkov said of Tkachuk's style of play. "You're going to score most of the goals from the net. He's elite, if not the best in the league at that. He knows where to be and what to do there. It's great to have that type of guy on the team."
Finding the back of the net in each of the last two games, Tkachuk leads the Panthers in scoring with 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists). Producing two goals and an assist against the Canadiens, he registered his team-high 15th multi-point performance in just 33 games played this season.
Letting it rip, he fired off a game-high nine shots on goal against Montreal.

4. STILL ON TOP

Even with Tkachuk nipping at his heels, Verhaeghe still holds his goal-scoring crown.
Netting his team-leading 18th goal of the season, Verhaeghe flew into the offensive zone, ignored a defender draped over his back and lifted a shot over Montembeault's blocker and into the top of the net to extend the lead to 5-2 just 4:14 after the puck dropped in the third period.
Setting him free on the play, Colin White made an outstanding stick lift to open the lane.

"He's a really good player, so it's fun playing with him," Verhaeghe said of White.
Rarely relinquishing the puck against Montreal, the Panthers led 15-5 in shot attempts, 8-1 in scoring chances, 3-0 in high-danger shot attempts and, most importantly, 3-0 in goals when the top line of Barkov, Verhaeghe and White was on the ice at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

5. STRONG FINN-ISH

The Panthers never took their foot off the gas.
Leading 4-2 entering the third period, they added three more goals to shut down any would-be comeback attempt for Montreal. After Verhaeghe and Tkachuk each struck to make it 6-2, Eetu Luostarinen finished off a 2-on-1 with Sam Bennett to lock down the 7-2 win at 9:31.

But even in the waning minutes of the game, Florida was still trying to score that eighth goal.
"That's the way we want to play," Verhaeghe said. "Early in the season I think we sat back on a lot of leads. It was encouraging to see that we kept going."
In the midst of a breakout season, Luostarinen's goal was particularly notable as he's now matched the career-high nine goals that he scored in 2021-22. But while those nine goals came over the course of 78 games, the 24-year-old has needed just 36 to hit that mark this season.
"I've been impressed with his game throughout the whole season," Tkachuk said. "He's very smart. He's probably been our most consistent player. He's hard on pucks. He's got really good hand-eye and just wins pucks battles and gets pucks back for me when I've been playing with him. His speed's good, his puck control's good and his shot's good. He does everything good."