5 Takeaways: Panthers Open Road Trip with Loss to Predators

The Panthers will have to wait at least another day to punch their ticket to the postseason.
Needing a win to secure their playoff berth with several games to spare, the Panthers opened up their four-game road trip with a 4-1 loss to the Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.

"They're also playing for everything right now," Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas said of the Predators (27-21-2), who are fighting to keep the surging Stars (21-15-12) at bay in the race for the final playoff spot in the Central Division. "Every game for them is a do-or-die game. We want to match their intensity. I thought we did for parts of tonight's game, but didn't get it done today."
Taking advantage of a 6-on-5 advantage after a delayed penalty on the Predators, the Panthers broke the ice tonight when Anthony Duclair sent a quick shot toward the blue paint that caromed off Sam Bennett's skate and past Juuse Saros to make it a 1-0 game at 4:49 of the first period.
On an advantage of their own later in the period, the Predators then pulled even when Mikael Granlund followed up on a shot from Roman Josi and sent the ensuing rebound straight past Chris Driedger from the top of the blue paint on the power play to make it a 1-1 contest at 6:30.
Putting the Predators on top early in the second period, Nick Cousins took a behind-the-net feed from Erik Haula and one-timed a shot home from on the top of the crease to make it 2-1 at 3:35.
With just under five minutes left in the middle frame, Driedger abruptly exited the game due to a lower-body injury after stopping 14 of 16 shots. Taking over the cage in relief, Sergei Bobrovsky, who didn't have that much time to settle in, went on to make nine saves over 24:55 of ice time.
Saros, meanwhile, turned aside 39 of 40 shots that came his way.
Increasing Nashville's lead in the third period, Erik Haula one-timed a centering feed from Matt Duchene past Bobrovsky to make it 3-1 at 2:39. Less than seven minutes later, Yakov Trenin then re-directed a shot from Tanner Jeannot into the twine to put the Cats in a 4-1 hole at 9:12.
Despite tonight's loss, Florida has still won five of its last eight games and, with a record of 31-14-5, is still in prime position to clinch a playoff berth in a rematch with Nashville on Tuesday.
"We're going to regroup tomorrow," Duclair said. "We still have a chance to clinch here and put ourselves in a good spot. We're just going to regroup, recharge and get back at it tomorrow."
Here are five takeaways from Monday's loss in Nashville…

1. BENNETT BREAKS THE ICE

Even though he's no longer playing for the Flames, Bennett is still considered on fire.
Finding the back of the net for the fourth time in just his sixth game since joining the Panthers at the trade deadline earlier this month, the 24-year-old forward opened the scoring tonight when a shot from Duclair hit right off of his skate and past Saros to make it 1-0 at 4:49 of the first period.
Right place, right time.

"It's been awesome," Bennett said of heading to Florida after lacing up his skates in more than 400 games with Calgary. "I've been loving every second of it. I've found two great linemates and we're building some chemistry. I'm having the most fun I've ever had in my career."
Even before he put on a Panthers sweater, Bennett was starting to hit his stride. Over his last 12 games (six with Florida and six with Calgary), he's recorded five goals and eight assists for 13 points. During that hot 12-game stretch, he's failed to crack the scoresheet only three times.
Overall, Bennett has notched 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 43 games this season.

2. DUCLAIR KEEPS CRUISING

Not that we needed an excuse, but Bennett's goal also gives us a chance to talk about Duclair.
A menace in the plus/minus department this season, the 25-year-old forward has been having a positive impact on the Panthers nearly every time he's stepped on the ice in recent weeks. And with another assist tonight, he's now posted three goals and nine assists in his last 10 contests.
During that 10-game stretch, he ranks tied for first in the NHL with an incredible +16 rating.
"We're getting to know each other a little more off the ice too, so that helps," Duclair said of his new red-hot line with Bennett and Jonathan Huberdeau. "The chemistry is coming along. … Every game you improve, and that's what we're doing here with Benny and Huby."
In 37 games this season, Duclair has notched 26 points (six goals, 20 assists).

3. SAROS STANDS TALL

Like a lot of teams lately, the Panthers couldn't solve Saros tonight.
Putting the Predators on his back down the home stretch, Saros entered tonight's matchup with an 11-3-1 record and .939 save percentage over his last 15 appearances. After stopping 39 of 40 shots against the Panthers, that lofty save percentage will now somehow go up even further.
Of the 11 high-danger shots that Saros faced, only one managed to slip past him.
"He's obviously a good goaltender, but I think we need to get more traffic," Duclair said of facing Saros. "We're shooting the puck a lot, but he's seeing everything. We're going to look at some video tomorrow and be better. We definitely need more traffic and more bodies at the net."
Earning another win tonight, Saros now sits at 18-9-1 with a .929 save percentage this season.

4. THE POSSESSION GAME

If you just look at the numbers, you'd probably think the Panthers ran away with this one.
Dominating the possession game, the Panthers finished with sizeable advantages over the Predators in shot attempts (61-27), shots on goal (36-20), scoring chances (36-19) and high-danger shot attempts (14-8) when play was at 5-on-5 tonight, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Like Duclair, Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said he would've also liked to have seen players creating more traffic around the net in order to increase the quality of the team's shot attempts.
"[Saros] saw a lot of shots, but we did have a lot of all-alone looks as well," Quenneville said. "Our shot selection was poor, I thought. But the quality and the quantity wasn't bad. … It would've been nice to get a couple of those, or one of them at least to get us going there in the second [period] to get us excited."
In terms of individuals, Alex Wennberg was Florida's king of possession tonight. When he was deployed on the ice at 5-on-5, the team led 20-4 in shot attempts and 15-3 in shots on goal.

5. DRIEDGER UPDATE

After the game, Quenneville labeled Driedger as "day-to-day" with a lower-body injury.
"I think [the injury] was progressively deteriorating as the game was going on," Quenneville said of Driedger, who already sat out a short period of time earlier this month with a lower-body injury. "We thought it was prudent to take him out at that time."
Heading into tonight's matchup, Driedger, boasted a 13-5-3 record with a .924 save percentage. That being said, the Panthers are blessed with an abundance of quality goaltenders. And even though he played nearly half a game tonight, Bobrovsky is expected to get the start tomorrow.
In his previous eight games, Bobrovsky has gone 5-3-0 with a .921 save percentage.