5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers Push Late, Come Up Short in Colorado

DENVER - There was only two points up for grabs, but the stakes felt a bit higher tonight.
In a game that certainly had the look and feel of the postseason, the Panthers scored twice in the third period but came up just short in a 3-2 loss to the Avalanche at Ball Arena on Sunday.

"It felt like a playoff game, for sure," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said. "There was a lot of fight in both teams. Both teams wanted to win badly. That was two good teams going at it."
Still in first place in the Atlantic Division and off to an outstanding 18-5-4 start, tonight's loss marked just the fifth time in 27 games this season that the Panthers didn't get at least a point.
"I thought we competed all night," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of his team's strong effort on the road. "We did what we set out to and played a pretty good road game. We fell a little short. A couple bounces here or there and it could've been different."
For a matchup that featured the top-two offenses in the NHL, there were surprisingly no goals to speak of for the first 39-plus minutes of tonight's game. But with 22.5 seconds left in the second period, Andrei Burakovsky broke the stalemate when he took a pass from Mikko Rantanen and roofed a shot over Sergei Bobrovsky's blocker on the power play to put the Avalanche up 1-0.
Riding off the momentum from that icebreaker, Burakovsky then netted his second goal of the night and doubled the lead for Colorado when he took a pass from Rantanen, skated down the slot and lifted a nifty backhand shot into the cage to make it 2-0 just 2:03 into the third period.
"I thought we managed the puck very well," Brunette said. "We're not going to play a faster counter team than the one we played tonight. I thought we limited that by doing the right things. Usually when you do the right things you get rewarded, but tonight we didn't."
But trailing 2-0 late, the Comeback Cats finally started to reap some of those rewards.
Finally getting one past Darcy Kuemper, the Panthers got on the board when Joe Thornton hammered a pass from Frank Vatrano into the twine on the power play make it 2-1 at 7:41. Less than three minutes later, Brandon Montour scored to suddenly make it a 2-2 game at 10:15.
Unfortunately, that deadlock lasted only just over a minute as Burakovsky wristed in a shot from the high slot to complete his first-career hat trick and put the Avalanche back up 3-2 at 11:43.
Gaining a 6-on-4 advantage after pulling their goalie while on a late power play, the Panthers threw everything they had at Kuemper over the final minute of regulation and would have scored if not for Erik Johnson clearing a would-be goal out of the blue paint with just a few seconds left.
In the end, the Avalanche held on to secure the 3-2 win.
"Big saves, even Johnson made great save," Thornton said of the team's impressive final push. "It's unfortunate that we just didn't get a bounce. I thought we probably deserved one tonight."
Heading back home, the Panthers will host the Senators at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday.
Here are five takeaways from Sunday's loss in Colorado…

1. TOUGH AS NAILS

No player quite embodies the term "warrior" like Patric Hornqvist.
While attempting to retrieve the puck around Colorado's net late in the first period, the veteran forward had an opposing player's skate catch him in the midsection. Immediately following the incident, he dropped his stick, put his hands on his sides and headed straight down the tunnel.
End of his night, right?
Nope.
Back on the bench right at the start of the second period, he went on to finish with 19:57 of ice time and a team-leading eight shots on goal against the Avalanche. While those numbers likely tell you all you need to know, Brunette also confirmed after the game that Hornqvist was OK.
"He loves these games," Brunett said. "He was all over the puck, all over the net."
When Hornqvist was on the ice at 5-on-5 tonight, Florida led 20-9 in shot attempts.

2. THORNTON'S MILESTONE

Jumbo keeps climbing the record books.
Getting the Panthers on the board with a timely goal, the ageless wonder buried a cross-ice pass from Vatrano past Kuemper to trim the deficit down to 2-1 at 7:41 of the third period.

Picking up the 1,534th point of his career in the process, Thornton passed Mark Recchi for 12th place on the NHL's all-time scoring list.
"It's great, but you want to win those games to really celebrate," he said of the milestone.
In addition to providing an invaluable veteran presence on and off the ice, Thornton has posted five points (three goals, two assists) in 16 games during his first season with the Panthers.

3. MONTOUR'S MISSLE

Montour's stick certainly provided some sparks during this road trip.
After finding the back of the net in St. Louis on Tuesday, the offensively-gifted defenseman picked up another tonight when he beat Kuemper to make it 2-2 at 10:15 of the third period.

"We've showed all year that we don't quit," Bennett said. "We push right until the end."
A consistent contributor on offense, Montour has tallied 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 27 games this season. Against the Avalanche, he also chipped in two blocked shots.

4. STRONG LATE PUSH

The Panthers really came on strong during the third period tonight.
Throwing everything they could at Colorado's net, they led 31-12 in shot attempts and 14-7 in scoring chances in all situations during an incredibly intense final 20 minutes of regulation.
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, they also fired off nine high-danger shot attempts.
"We pushed hard, especially in the last 10 minutes of the third," Thornton said. "We really pushed back. We won pretty much every 50-50 battle. It was good desperation hockey. It could've been a different result, but it wasn't. But we played really hard."
Although they came up just short, players can hang their hat on that late push.
"We never quit," Bennett said. "We were sticking up for each other in the battles and were in the fight the whole game. That's all you can really ask for from your teammates. It's great to see."

5. HOMEWARD BOUND

After living out of a suitcase for a week, the Cats are finally coming home.
Scheduled to play a pair of games at FLA Live Arena before hitting the road once again, the Panthers will host the Senators on Tuesday and then the Kings on Thursday.
"We're ready to come home," Thornton smiled.
Fueled by their fans, the Panthers have gone 14-1-0 on home ice this season.
"We love being at home," Bennett said. "Definitely looking forward to getting back there."
At the time of this writing, Florida also ranks fist in the NHL in goals at home with 66.