5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers clamp down defensively in win over Predators

Clamping things down on the defensive side of the puck, the Panthers pushed their winning streak to seven games with a 4-1 win over the Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
With only 10 games remaining on their schedule in the regular season, the Panthers (51-15-6) are holding onto an eight-point lead over the Maple Leafs (46-19-6) for the crucial top spot in the Atlantic Division.

"I thought we managed the game really well," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "I didn't think our energy level was all that high, but we were intelligent enough to make sure that we stayed in layers, we stayed connected. We picked and chose our time to win certain battles around the boards and blocked shots. We did a lot of good things."
Jumping out to an early lead in the Music City, Carter Verhaeghe took a pass from Brandon Montour and blasted a one-timer past Juuse Saros from just inside the top of the left circle to break the ice while on a delayed penalty and make it 1-0 just 3:34 into the opening period.
Getting that goal back a little over two minutes later, Ryan Johansen fired the puck past Spencer Knight and into the net to pull the Predators back even and make it 1-1 at 5:52.
"Getting that lead will obviously be extremely important as we go forward here," Brunette said.
Finally breaking the deadlock late in the second period, Anton Lundell flew off the bench, cut toward the cage and picked a corner from a sharp angle to put the Panthers up 2-1 at 15:16.
In what was an impressive goaltending duel for the majority of tonight's contest, Knight finished with 24 saves on 25 shots, while Saros turned aside 21 of the 23 shots that came his direction.
"I thought we played a very good game structurally from start to finish," Knight said.
Suffocating Nashville's attack in the third period, the Panthers surrendered just five shots on goal over the final 20 minutes of regulation, while Jonathan Huberdeau and Gustav Forsling each notched empty-net goals at 18:53 and 19:10, respectively, to safely secure the 4-1 win.
With his goal, Huberdeau, who sits second on the NHL's scoring leaderboard with a franchise-record 104 points (27 goals, 77 assists), extended his point streak to season-long 11 games.
"We were on the right side of things," Brunette said. "We can pick away, a little bit of our puck play I didn't love, but in a back-to-back, in a playoff-like atmosphere against a really good team, to do the right things over and over again throughout the game was a really good sign for us."
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's win in Nashville…

1. SWAGGY STRIKES

The left circle seems to be Swaggy's sweet spot.
Striking first for the Panthers, Verhaeghe broke the ice early in the first period when he ripped a one-timer past Saros from his favorite location on the ice to make it 1-0 shortly after puck drop.

Picking up right where he left off after breaking out during his first season with the Panthers in 2020-21, Verhaeghe has already set career-highs in goals (22), assists (30) and points (51).
All 22 of those goals have come at even strength, which places him tied for first on the team.

2. MONTY'S MILESTONE

You can add another name to the list of players hitting milestones this week.
With the primary assist on Verhaeghe's goal, Montour registered the 100th assist of his career.
A consistent contributor from the blue line, he ranks fourth among Florida's defensemen in scoring with 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists). Close to reaching new heights on offense, he needs to post just one more goal and one more point to reach new career-high marks in both.
When he was on the ice at 5-on-5 tonight, the Panthers led 13-11 in shot attempts.

3. THREADING THE NEEDLE

No seam is too small when you've got a shooter's mentality.
Identifying the tiniest of holes between Saros' shoulder and the crossbar, Lundell wired a laser of a shot into the top of the cage from a sharp angle to put the Cats up 2-1 in the second period.

"When I got the puck, I saw he was down," Lundell said. "He's a really good goalie. I just tried to get it under the bar, and this time it worked. It was a good goal, a huge goal for us."
Despite being limited to 57 games this season due to an injury, Lundell has managed to rack up 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists), which is the fourth-most points by a rookie in franchise history.
"The guys help a lot," the 20-year-old said. "I'm just trying to play every game the best I can."

4. KNIGHT ALL DAY

The Panthers didn't give up much, but Knight was there when they did.
In stopping 24 of 25 shots - including two from high-danger areas, per NaturalStatTrick.com - the 20-year-old rookie improved to 17-8-3 and also extended his winning streak to four games.
"He played excellent the whole game," Brunette said. "I thought he was calming. He was very quiet, solid. It was a really good performance by him."

After spending some time down in the AHL, Knight has looked calm, cool and collected since returning to the Panthers. Making 11 appearances since March 7, he's posted an 8-2-1 record on top of a .921 save percentage and one shutout during a consistently steady stretch of play.
"Spencer was great today," Lundell said. "You always need a goalie to make the big saves at the right moments, and he did it, for sure, today. … We all saw how confident he was in the net, and that's always fun to watch."

5. GOALS, GOALS, GOALS

With their four goals in Nashville, the Panthers became only the sixth team in the NHL in the past 25 years to score 300 or more goals - including shootout-deciding goals -- in a season.
Sitting on 302, Florida needs 23 more to catch Tampa Bay's 325 goals in 2018-19.
Blessed with arguably the most-balanced attack in the NHL, the Panthers have nine players on their roster that have scored at least 15 goals, including Aleksander Barkov (34), Anthony Duclair (28), Huberdeau (27) and Sam Reinhart (27).
"With our group, if we do the right things and manage the puck we'll get our opportunities," Brunette said of his team's offensive consistency. "With a little bit of a checking mentality, we're skilled enough that when we do get our opportunities we're going to have the puck a lot."