5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers can't 'get motor going' in shootout loss to Kings

Losing for the first time when leading after two periods this season, the Panthers opened up their West Coast swing with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.
Owning a four-point cushion over the intrastate-rival Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 40-13-6, the loss snapped Florida's winning streak at five games.

"I just think we had trouble getting the motor going," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "Winning on the road in the NHL is tough, and it was another reminder tonight how hard it is night in, night out. We'll be better next game."
Taking an early lead at home, the Kings opened the scoring in the first period when Rasmus Kupari beat Spencer Knight with a short-side shot from his backhand to make it 1-0 at 11:50.
Flipping the script, the Panthers, despite being on the penalty kill, evened things up when Eetu Luostarinen took a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau, blew through the defense and sent a shot past Jonathan Quick for a shorthanded goal to make it 1-1 just 43 seconds into the second period.
Giving the Panthers the lead just over three minutes later, Brandon Montour followed up on a shot from Aleksander Barkov, who made more than a few Kings looks silly as he maneuvered through the offensive zone before letting loose, and buried the rebound to make it 2-1 at 3:44.
"I liked our effort the whole game," Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas said. "We didn't have the best start, but I thought we picked it up. We played really hard. I don't think we gave them many chances. They didn't quit and we didn't quit. It was a really hard-fought battle today."
With time winding down in the third period, officiating took center stage as Huberdeau, moments after he was the victim of what looked to be a trip, was whistled for an elbowing penalty on Alex Iafallo that then sent the Kings right to the man advantage with just 1:12 remaining in regulation.

"A little reckless, but he had every right to be upset," Brunette said of the play. "It could've been a catastrophic thing that happened in the far end. I think he knows better late in the game to try to keep his emotions in check, but it's hard. We're only human. I think we'd all be upset at that."
With the Kings pulling their goalie to gain a 6-on-4 advantage, Martin Frk, who obviously had lots of open space on the ice to work with, scored to make it 2-2 at 19:28 and force overtime.
After the Panthers made it through the extra frame by killing off a full two minutes of a 4-on-3 power play, the game eventually went to the shootout where Trevor Moore scored and Quick denied Anthony Duclair in the fifth round to secure the come-from-behind win for the Kings.
"We got what we deserved," Brunette said. "We can't control the uncontrollable and how it influences the game. We have to find a way to battle through and go through the adversity and find a way to close that game out."
Here are five takeaways from Sunday's loss in Los Angeles…

1. SHORTY SEASON

The Panthers certainly pack a punch of the penalty kill.
Just 43 seconds into the second period, Luostarinen, sprung free by a pass from Huberdeau, sliced through the defense before scoring shorthanded to pull the Panthers back even at 1-1.
With that score, Florida moved into a tie for first in the NHL in shorthanded goals with eight.

For Luostarinen, the shorthanded goal was his second of the season. Earning consistent playing time in the bottom-six this season, the 23-year-old Finn has already set new career-highs in goals (9), assists (9), points (18) and games played (55).

2. HELPERS FOR HUBY

At this point, it's more of a story when Huberdeau doesn't get an assist.
Already leading the league and setting a new franchise record for assists in a season, the all-star picked up his 65th helper by setting up Luostarinen's shorthanded score in the first period.
Over his last 29 games, Huberdeau has failed to record an assist just three times.
Simply refusing to fall behind in the NHL's scoring race, Huberdeau is now once again tied with Edmonton's Connor McDavid for first place with 83 points. Catching up in 2022, Huberdeau has outscored McDavid 45-31 since Jan. 1, with his 45 points tied for first in the league in that span.

3. MONTY MANIA

Montour made it all the way from the blue line to the blue paint on this play.
Touching twine for the seventh time this season, the two-way defenseman showed off plenty of skill when he followed a shot from Barkov and buried the ensuing rebound while crashing the net before crashing down to the ice to give the Panthers a 2-1 advantage in the second period.

"Any time I can help on the ice, defensively or offensively, it's good," Montour said.
Providing plenty of offense from the third pairing, Montour's 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) this season are just seven shy of the career-high 32 he accumulated in 2017-18 with Anaheim.

4. IN SHINING ARMOR

Knight was sharp once again.
Turning aside 35 of 37 shots against the Kings - including making 30 saves from the second period onward - the 20-year-old rookie pieced together a strong performance even in defeat.
"I thought he was really good," Brunette said. "He made some big saves."
Over his last four appearances, Knight is 3-1-1 with a .942 save percentage.
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, he went 10-for-11 on high-danger shots against the Kings.
"It's fun to see him doing this well," Gudas said.

5. ON THE KILL

The penalty kill had some impressive moments in Los Angeles.
Even though the Kings converted on their 6-on-4 opportunity in the third period, the Panthers played very well when down a man. In addition to Luostarinen's shorthanded goal in the second period, the penalty kill also came up big when it stifled two minutes of 4-on-3 during overtime.
Over the last six games, the Panthers have gone 18-for-20 (90%) on the PK.
"I thought we managed the puck extremely well in the third period," Brunette said.
Individually, Barkov (3:56) and MacKenzie Weegar (4:55) led Florida in shorthanded minutes tonight.