5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers Earn Another Point in OT Loss to Lightning

The Panthers picked up a point for the second straight game, but fell to the rival Lightning by a score of 3-2 in overtime during a thrilling back-and-forth matchup at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
Despite going 0-2-2 on their four-game trek, Florida's record still sits at an impressive 10-2-3.

"Our effort is there," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "We battle, we play hard, and we give everything we have. Obviously, in the last games it's been some of those decisions we've made with the puck and without the puck that cost us a lot of goals and a lot of momentum. But the effort's there. We need to stay positive. It's a long season. We had a really good start."
After coming up short on a few great looks early in the first period, the Panthers fell behind 1-0 when Pat Maroon banged home a cross-ice feed from Ross Colton on the power play at 12:27.
In the second period, some bad blood spilled over when Brayden Point tripped Patric Hornqvist after the two looked to have some words along the boards. In the brawl that ensued, Hornqvist unleashed a flurry of punches, but Point stayed upright and both players headed to the box.
Not long after the fight, Victor Hedman then doubled the lead for the Lightning when fired a long rebound past Sergei Bobrovsky from far to the left of the cage to make it a 2-0 contest at 9:02.
But then in the span of just 36 seconds, the Panthers finally got their momentum swing.
After Jonathan Huberdeau sniped a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy to slice the deficit down to 2-1 at 12:59, Eetu Luostarinen tipped in a shot from Aaron Ekblad to suddenly make it 2-2 at 13:35.
Helping provide that spark, Huberdeau was put on a line with Barkov before his goal.
"I think it was good for the group that we stuck with it," Panthers Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. "We didn't try to make it 2-2 in one shift. We did the right things and we got rewarded. They should feel good about that. I thought they did a lot of the right things."
During the third period, the goals dried up for both teams as Bobrovsky and Vasilevskiy put on a goaltending clinic. In a battle between former Vezina Trophy winners, Bobrovsky stopped nine shots over the final 20 minutes of regulation, while Vasilevsky made seven saves of his own.
"They're a good team," Barkov said of the Bolts. "They're a really good test for us, for sure. I think we have a really good rivalry going on. Both teams want to win really bad. You see on the ice, every inch is important, every shot is dangerous. It's a lot of fun to play these games."
Playing past regulation for the fifth time in their last eight games, the Panthers then had a few good looks in overtime before Point eventually buried a backhand shot on a breakaway at 2:13 to lock in the 3-2 win for the Lightning, who improved their record to 7-3-3 on the campaign.
Overall, Florida has earned points in 13 of 15 games out of the gate.
"This group competes," Brunette said of the team's strong effort in defeat. "I'm proud of the way they bring it every night and compete every night. Can we be a little bit smarter at different times? Yes, absolutely. We still have things to work on, but we work and we compete."
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's loss in Tampa Bay…

1. HORNQVIST FIRES 'EM UP

When asked about the Cats' comeback in the second period, Barkov immediately pointed to Hornqvist's fight with Point as one of the driving factors behind the team's momentum swing.
"Down 2-0, Horny goes and fights," he said. "He fought for every inch on the ice -- in front of the net, in the corners, anywhere, to help get us going tonight. Same thing with lots of other guys."

While Hornqvist is certainly a tough-as-nails player, his fight against Point was actually just the fifth time he's dropped the gloves over his 829 career games in the NHL, per the league's stats.
But, like Barkov said, his contributions against the Lightning went beyond that brawl.
Over the 10:57 he skated at 5-on-5, the Panthers led 13-7 in shot attempts, 7-4 in shots on goal and 6-5 in scoring chances, per to NaturalStatTrick.com. And as for the extra work that doesn't really show up on the scoresheet, he also clearly succeeded in getting under Tampa Bay's skin.

2. HUBERDEAU NETS ONE

Huberdeau got some payback for one of his good buddies on this one.
Only a few moments after Barkov absorbed a questionably high hit along the boards from a Lightning player, Huberdeau collected the loose puck, made a nifty little move in the high slot and then ripped a shot into the top of the twine to trim the deficit to 2-1 in the second period.

"We got the momentum back," Barkov said. "We played in their zone. We played with the puck. That's exactly what we wanted to do the whole game. That's how we need to play all the time. Every shift, we've got to hold each other accountable and make right decisions with the puck."
Earning at least one point in 10 of the last 11 games, Huberdeau ranks second on the Panthers in scoring with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists). Always getting up for this rivalry game, he also has now produced 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) over 40 career games against the Lightning.

3. LUOSTARINEN STAYS HOT

Luostarinen is making a habit out of scoring clutch goals.
With two game-winning goals already this season, the young center scored the game-tying goal tonight against the Lightning when he tipped a shot from Ekblad over Vasilevskiy's blocker and into the net to make it 2-2 a mere 36 seconds after Huberdeau got the Panthers on the board.

"I feel this game was our best in a while," Luostarinen said. "Just need to keep playing like that."
Increasing his career-high goal total to five on the season, Luostarinen has notched all of those goals over the last nine games. Complementing that goals-scoring with some strong physical play, he led Florida's forwards with three hits against the Lightning, and also had one block.
"It's a physical game out there and you have to be ready for every moment," he said.

4. BOB IS BIG AGAIN

Make that now eight games in a row with a point for Bobrovsky.
Off to an outstanding 6-0-2 start, the veteran goaltender made 21 saves against the Bolts, including going 10-for-12 on shots that were unleashed from high-danger areas on the ice.
"Bob was unbelievable again," Barkov said. "He kept us in the game."
With tonight's overtime loss serving as only the second time this season that he's given up more than two goals in a game, Bobrovsky currently boasts a .940 save percentage over nine starts.

5. HOME COOKING

The Panthers are finally heading back to Sunrise.
After spending the last four games on the road, the team will now settle in for a four-game homestand, which begins with a matchup against the Islanders on Nov. 16. After that, they'll also welcome the Devils (Nov. 18), Wild (Nov. 20) and Flyers (Nov. 24) to FLA Live Arena.
In addition to owning a 7-0-0 record, Florida also leads 33-16 in goals at home this season.
"You keep working even harder," Barkov said of the road ahead. "We know that we have a really good group here. When we play the right way, it's really tough to play against us."
As for getting back in the win column, Barkov believes the team can build off tonight's loss. "This is going to give us good momentum," he said. "We got points in the last two games."
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