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      4/17/21 Post Game Interviews

      If this is a preview of what we're going to see in the postseason, sign me up!
      Pulling even in their heated season series, the Panthers got contributions from up and down their lineup in an exhilarating 5-3 victory over the rival Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
      With six games in the books and two more to go, each Sunshine State squad has won three.

      "You take that any day of the week or the year," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, flashing a big smile out from under his mustache, said when asked about capping off a six-game road trip by taking three of four points from the Lightning. "We're happy to go home. It's been a long trip."
      Netting his first goal as a member of the Panthers, Brandon Montour, who was picked up from the Buffalo Sabres prior to the trade deadline, opened the scoring tonight when his long shot from the point hit off a defender and past Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 1-0 at 8:41 of the first period.
      Keeping their foot on the gas and doubling the lead less than four minutes later on the power play, the Panthers struck again when Aleksander Barkov fired a shot that ricocheted off Patric Hornqvist's left skate and right through Vasilevskiy's five-hole to make it a 2-0 game at 12:31.
      Slicing the deficit in half for the Lightning almost immediately, Brayden Point, who was dug in right outside the blue paint, re-directed a shot from Mikhail Sergachev to make it 2-1 at 13:40.
      Ending the opening 20 minutes with an exclamation point, Jonathan Huberdeau followed-up on a long wrist shot from Markus Nutivaara and buried the ensuing rebound to make it 3-1 at 19:52.
      "It was huge," Nutivaara said of coming out strong against Vasilevskiy, who hadn't lost a game at home this season. "You want to get those early goals. He's a good goalie, of course. We've just got to make it harder for him. Of course, we've got good goalies, too. It's a good battle."
      Trading goals late in the second period, Frank Vatrano slipped a shot around Vasilevskiy on a breakaway to put the Panthers up 4-1 at 17:34. But less than two minutes after that, Erik Cernak ripped a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky through traffic to trim the Lightning's deficit to 4-2 at 19:15.
      Helping the Lighting fight all the way back to within a single goal, Mathieu Joseph made it a 4-3 game when he re-directed a shot from Victor Hedman just 1:53 into the third period. Locking it down from there, the Panthers would then hold strong until Anthony Duclair danced through a pair of defenders before putting the game away with an empty-net goal to make it 5-3 at 19:10.
      Coming up with his biggest save of the night a little before Duclair's goal, Bobrovsky used his right pad to rob Point of what appeared to be the game-tying goal. Earning his 16th win of the season, Bobrovsky finished the game with 28 saves, while Vasilevskiy stopped 27 of 31 shots.

      "A huge, huge save," Quenneville said of the clutch stop on Point. "A game-winning save."
      Leapfrogging the Lightning (29-13-2) in the standings with the win, the Panthers (28-12-5) now head home trailing the Hurricanes (29-10-4) by one point for first place in the Central Division.
      Here are five takeaways from Saturday's win in Tampa Bay…

      1. MONTOUR'S FIRST

      With how good he looked in his debut, you knew Montour would get on the board soon.
      Appearing in his second game with Florida after being picked up from Buffalo in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick on April 10, the 27-year-old defenseman broke the ice in Tampa when his shot from the point went off a defender and into the twine make it 1-0 at 8:41 of the first period.

      "I thought Monty had a good game," Quenneville said. "Nice to see him score, and he had a couple [other] looks as well coming down off the point. Defensively, I thought he moved the puck quick out of our own end."
      Paired up with Nutivaara on the blue line, Montour has looked very comfortable in his first two games with the Panthers. Showing great poise in all three zones, he also racked up a pair of blocks and fired off three shots on goal tonight while earning a +3 rating over 18:38 of ice time.
      "He moves well," Nutivaara said of teaming up with Montour. "He moves with the puck."
      In 40 games between Buffalo and Florida this season, Montour has scored six goals.

      2. HORNQVIST'S SKATE

      As usual, Hornqvist made something happen near the net tonight.
      Fighting for position around the blue paint on the power play, the hard-nosed forward's skate caught just enough of a shot from Barkov to fool Vasilevskiy, who watched as the puck floated right through his five-hole and into the net to give Florida a 2-0 lead at 12:31 of the first period.

      Touching the twine in each of the last two games, Hornqvist is now up to 14 goals on the season, including a team-leading eight on the power play. Making a habit out of scoring big goals against the Bolts, he's already lit the lamp three times against Tampa Bay this season.

      3. HUBERDEAU'S TIMELY GOAL

      Huberdeau beat both the clock and the goaltender on this one.
      After Vasilevskiy kicked out a big rebound following a point shot from Nutivaara, Huberdeau immediately pounced on the puck and fired it into the back of the cage to give the Panthers a commanding 3-1 advantage with just under eight seconds left on the clock in the first period.

      Tied with Barkov for the team-scoring lead with 45 points, Huberdeau also ranks first in assists (30) and tied for third in goals (15). Producing at nearly a point-per-game clip, the 27-year-old forward has recorded 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) in 37 career games against the Lightning.

      4. VATRANO'S WHEELS

      Vatrano might have some of the most-underrated wheels in the league.
      Flying through the neutral zone and blowing past a defender to free himself up for a breakaway, Vatrano shrugged off what looked like a slash from Sergachev, made a quick deke and then slid a backhand shot past Vasilevskiy to extend Florida's lead to 4-1 at 17:34 of the second period.

      On a scoring tear, Vatrano has scored five goals in his last nine games to push his total on the season to 15, which places him in a tie with Huberdeau for the third-most on the team. Bringing his A-game against the Bolts, he's scored four goals in six games against Tampa Bay this year.
      "Mr. Clutch" once again, Vatrano's goal tonight was his sixth game-winner of the season.

      5. BENNETT'S BIG DEBUT

      Sam Bennett's debut with the Panthers couldn't have gone much better.
      In addition to picking up a pair of assists, the 24-year-old also ranked first among Florida's forwards with five hits - including a huge one on Anthony Cirelli - and finished with a +3 rating. In terms of possession, he also paced the team with a 63.16 CF%, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
      "He brought a real good effort as far as in the middle of the ice and with his physical presence," Quenneville said of Bennett, who the Panthers brought in from Calgary at the trade deadline. "He was at the net. He made some plays. That line had a lot of energy in all zones. He had a couple impact hits and brought physicality in the middle of the ice. A nice way to start for him."

      Making his transition a bit easier, Bennett centered a line with Huberdeau and Duclair against the Lightning. And when that trio was on the ice, the puck seemed to always be in the offensive zone, as some apparent early chemistry helped create lots of sustained pressure all game long.
      "I was so excited to play with those guys," Bennett said. "They're so talented and so skilled. I don't even think I realized just how good they are until I actually got to play with them."
      Prior to joining the Panthers, Bennett, who was taken by the Flames with the fourth-overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, had tallied 140 points (67 goals, 73 assists) in 402 games with Calgary.
      "Honestly, as soon as I got out there for my first shift all the nerves disappeared," Bennett said. "I think it was just, before the game, a little bit of excitement and a little bit of nerves. That all went away. I was just playing hockey."