5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers Open Trip with OT Loss in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -Even when they're not at their best, they keep picking up points.
Walking away with at least one point for the 21st time in 25 games this season, the Panthers opened up their road trip with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

"I thought in the first [period] we had a lot of chances," Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. "We were working hard. In the second we weren't ourselves, and they took advantage of that. In the third we battled a little bit more to get a point, but it wasn't our best effort tonight."
After missing the last eight games with a lower-body injury, Aleksander Barkov broke the ice when he glided straight down the slot and re-directed a smooth centering feed from Maxim Mamin past Ville Husso with his backhand to make it 1-0 at 6:49 of the opening period.
Unfortunately, Barkov didn't finish the game after suffering a new injury later in the third period.
Following the game, Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette had no immediate updates on Barkov's status other than pointing out that this new ailment is unrelated to his previous injury.
"A little tweak," said Brunette, who expects to know more about the injury in the near future.
With Husso, who made 48 saves in a 4-3 shootout loss at FLA Live Arena last week, doing everything he could to limit the damage to just one goal, the Panthers finished the first period leading 30-6 in shot attempts and 20-1 in scoring chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
"I think we had some chances," Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said. "Obviously [Husso] had a good game. I feel like we had a couple right in front of the net where we might score usually, but it is what it is. You can't score every time. The guys battled hard."
Finally getting the Blues on the board early in the second period, Vladimir Tarasenko collected a pass from Ivan Barbashev and beat Spencer Knight with a short-side snipe from near the center of the right circle to even things up and make it a 1-1 game at 4:20.
Breaking that tie less than a minute later, Montour pounced on a loose puck in the offensive zone and wired a shot through traffic from behind the right circle past Husso and into the far side of the cage to put the Panthers back on top 2-1 at 5:12.
On the power play later in the period, the Blues pulled even once again when Brayden Schenn re-directed a quick feed from Tarasenko past Knight from the doorstep to make it 2-2 at 13:34.
Later in the third period, the Blues took their first lead of the game when, just after their power play expired, Brandon Saad scored his team-high 11th goal of the season to make it 3-2 at 6:48.
"Obviously, everybody's good in this league," Montour said. "They're going to pressure and come with pace. [The Blues] are obviously a good team. They came at us pretty good there."
Of course, like they have all season, the Panthers battled back.
Coming up in the clutch, Radko Gudas turned around and shipped the puck toward the net and right onto Jonathan Huberdeau's stick for a goal to make it 3-3 with 5:32 remaining in regulation.
But with the game eventually getting to overtime, Pavel Buchnevich skated around the net and tucked in a wrap-around goal just 53 seconds into the extra frame to seal a 4-3 win for St. Louis.
After splitting their heated home-and-home series, the Panthers, who won the first meeting in a shootout back in Sunrise on Saturday, sit at 17-4-4 on the season, while the Blues are 13-8-4.
"They found a way to battle back," Brunette said. "They found their game in the third. I really felt we were in control of the game [in the first period]. A little disappointed in our second period. Credit to [the Blues], they were a little more desperate in that second period.
"We kind of lost our game a little bit. But, again, the group found a way to manage to get a point. We've just got to find a way to be a little better on the road. It's not a 20-minute game or a 40-mintue game on the road. It's 60. It's hard to win in this league on the road."
Here are five takeaways Tuesday's overtime loss in St. Louis…

1. BARKY STRIKES

Before leaving the game in the third period, Barkov was looking like his old self.
After sitting out he last eight games while recovering from an injury, the captain scored less than seven minutes into his first game back when he skated down the slot and re-directed a pinpoint pass from Maxim with his backhand into the net to put the Panthers on top 1-0 in the first period.

His team-leading 10th goal of the season, Barkov, despite missing an extended period of time, is also tied for fourth on the Panthers in points (18) and tied for seventh in assists (8). Before he exited tonight's game, Florida led 13-4 in shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 play.
As for his injury, stay tuned to @FlaPanthers on Twitter for updates later this week.

2. MONTOUR'S TALLY

The best way to beat a hot goaltender is to take away his eyes.
Jumping on a loose puck near the top of the right circle after a shot from Carter Verhaeghe was blocked, Montour found a seam and threaded a shot through a dense traffic jam of bodies straight past Husso and into the twine to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead in the second period.

"A lot of traffic," Montour said when asked what he saw on the goal. "I feel like I had some good chances tonight. I saw the net pretty good, and luckily that one went in."
Finding ways to chip in consistently on offense, Montour has recorded 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 25 games this season. In addition his goal, he also fired off three shots on goal and laid out to block two shots against the Blues.

3. DELICIOUS DISHES

While it was Barkov that scored, his wingers also had big nights.
Dishing out two assists each against the Blues, Verhaeghe and Mamin seemed to be involved in the action whenever they were on the ice. In fact, when the trio of Barkov, Verhaeghe and Mamin was deployed at 5-on-5, the Cats led 11-1 in scoring chances, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Catching fire, Mamin now has four points (two goals, two assists) over his last two games, while Verhaeghe, who ranks third on the Panthers in scoring with 20 points, has produced four assists over his last three games.
When the Panthers are fully healthy, this new line certainly flashed some potential.

4. HUBERDEAU TIES IT

Named the NHL's "First Star" last week, Huberdeau was shining bright again tonight.
Helping make sure the Panthers would leave St. Louis with at least a point, the dynamic winger buried the game-tying goal late in the third period off an outstanding centering feed from Gudas.

"Obviously he can make some plays, and that's what he did on that goal," Huberdeau said of the set-up. "A huge goal to get us a point. It wasn't our best effort, but at least we got a point."
Leading the Panthers in scoring with 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists), Huberdeau has been filling up the scoresheet at a remarkable rate as of late. Over his last four games, he's posted 10 points (two goals, eight assists), including a five-point performance against Buffalo on Dec. 2.

5. POWER PLAY CHANCES

A lucky bounce here or there on the power play could've been the difference tonight.
While the Blues went 1-for-5 with the man advantage (basically 2-for-5 if you count Saad's goal that came just a few seconds after a power play expired), the Cats unfortunately had nothing to show for their five opportunities with the extra attacker despite generating nine scoring chances.
"We had a lot of chances, but we've still got to find a way to score some goals," Huberdeau of the execution on the power play. "It's going to be huge along the way this year to get some goals on the power play. That's how you can win some games. We didn't get one [tonight]."
Although the finish still isn't quite there, Brunette liked the team's puck movement.
"I think if you move the puck like that you're going to be fine," he said. "I like the way it moved. Maybe a little cute, but I think our whole game got a little cute there in the second period, even in parts of the first, and it kind of leaked into our power play time. I thought we tried to be too cute and needed a little more pucks-on-net mentality."
With the weapons they possess, it's only a matter of time until things click for the Panthers on the power play.