5 Takeaways: Cats Ride Big 3rd Period to Opening Night Win vs. Chicago

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Florida Panthers showed a lot of character on opening night.
Tied 2-2 early in the third period, the Panthers scored three unanswered goals to kick off their 2020-21 season with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at BB&T Center on Sunday night.

"Great response," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of his team's late push. "At that point, we were a different team from what we saw for a stretch of about 20 minutes. A great response by the goal, then scoring again. I just think we did a lot of good things after that. I thought we were a little bit more predictable with pucks. I thought we could be smarter, could have more movement, we could have more support, but nevertheless it turned out to be a good win."
Following a scoreless first period, Aaron Ekblad finally broke open the game just 12 seconds into the second, sending a shot into traffic that bounced right of the stick of one of Chicago's defensemen and past goaltender Collin Delia and into the cage put the Panthers on top 1-0.
A little over five minutes later, Keith Yandle added to Florida's lead when he took advantage of some confusion within Chicago's zone. After Delia was taken out of the play by a few of his own teammates, Yandle cashed in on the abandoned net to make it 2-0 at 5:33 of the second period.
At 12:24, the Blackhawks finally managed to get on the board when Alex DeBrincat converted on the power play with a rocket of a one-timer that flew straight past goaltender Chris Driedger and into the exposed twine to cut Chicago's deficit to 2-1 heading into the second intermission.
Building off that second-period score, Connor Murphy pulled the Blackhawks even at 2:53 of the third when he connected on a long shot during 4-on-4 play to make it a 2-2 game. Answering quickly, however, Eetu Luostarinen scored just 22 seconds later to put Florida back on top 3-2.
Joining Luostarinen in the "scoring my first goal as a Panther" club, Patric Hornqvist then added an insurance goal a little bit later when his shot from along the right boards was tipped by one of Chicago's defenders straight through Delia's five-hole to increase Florida's lead to 4-2 at 5:57.
Putting a bow on top of a great opening night, Jonathan Huberdeau put the game away when he took a pass through the slot from Aleksander Barkov and lifted a shot past Delia while the Panthers were on the power play to make it a commanding 5-2 lead with 3:05 left in regulation.
Driedger finished with 25 saves while Delia allowed five goals on 29 shots.
"Starting off with two points is huge for us, just getting confidence," Driedger said. "We've been watching other teams play for the last couple days, and we got a couple extra days of practice. Everyone's got little bit of nerves. We got that out in the first period and the guys just got to work."
Looking to build off their strong start, the Panthers host the Blackhawks again on Tuesday.

1. EKBLAD STRIKES FIRST

It was a blueliner that broke the ice for the Panthers in 2020-21.
With a lot of traffic in the slot, Ekblad sent a shot towards the net that caught a piece of Duncan Keith's stick and sailed past Delia give Florida a 1-0 lead just 12 seconds into the middle frame.
"We had some good movement with our D joining the attack," Quenneville said.

Florida's No. 1 defenseman, Ekblad headed into this season on the heels of a breakout 2019-20 campaign in which he reached new career-highs in both points (41) and assists (36) - a feat made more impressive given the fact he was limited to only 67 contests due to the pandemic.
A workhorse on the ice, the 24-year-old skated a game-high 24:27 against the Blackhawks.

2. YANDLE HITS 100

Yandle's wild week ended with quite the exclamation point.
Taking advantage of some chaos around Chicago's crease after Delia was pulled out of position by a few of his teammates, Yandle chased down a loose puck, turned and then fired a long shot straight into the back the empty net to double the Panthers' lead to 2-0 at 5:33 of the first period.

"Any time I score I'm pretty excited," Yandle said. "It was definitely a special one."
The 100th goal of his NHL career, Yandle is coming off a season in which he posted 45 points (five goals, 40 assists) in 69 games. The NHL's active iron man, the 34-year-old extended his streak to 867 games by suiting up against Chicago - the fourth-longest streak in NHL history.
"I didn't hear when they announced it," Yandle said when asked about his milestone. "Then Lombo [Ryan Lomberg] said it on the bench. Obviously getting a win is the biggest thing and being able to contribute… To get my 100th goal, it took a long time but I'm happy to get it."

3. LUOSTARINEN LIGHTS IT UP

Making his debut with the Panthers, Luostarinen turned some heads.
Earning "First Star of the Game" honors, the 22-year-old forward picked up two points against Chicago, including scoring the game-winning goal. Putting the Panthers back on top just 22 seconds after the Blackhawks tied the game, he quickly made it 3-2 at 3:15 of the third period. Luostarinen's score - a beautiful snipe past Delia - was also the first goal of his NHL career.

"Obviously, I felt good out there," said Luostarinen, who also showed off his scoring touch during training camp with a goal in each of Florida's instrasquad scrimmages. "I think that's a huge win for us and a good way to start off the season. Two points, that's what we wanted."
Acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes at last year's trade deadline, Luostarinen, who was taken in the second round (42nd overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft, put up good numbers during his first professional season in 2019-20, producing eight goals and 17 assists in 49 AHL contests.
Appearing in just the ninth NHL game of his career (he suited up in eight games with the Hurricanes last season), Luostarinen's strong play is making an impression on Quenneville.
"I loved his game," Quenneville said. "I think he does a lot of good things. I think he's got some creativity to his game. The puck follows him around a bit. I think defensively he's got real good instincts, playing both sides of the puck. Offensively, he's a little niftier than you think."

4. HORNQVIST GETS AN "A"

When Hornqvist took the ice for warmups, the "A" on his jersey immediately jumped out.
"He brings big-time passion," Quenneville said of naming Hornqvist an alternate captain. "Whether you're in the gym after a practice or going onto the ice before a practice starts, he's got a ton of enthusiasm around the locker room, around the bench, pushing his teammates."
Heading into his first season with the Panthers after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade during the offseason, the two-time Stanley Cup champion's leadership qualities were on full display against Chicago as he did a little bit of everything in his debut.

Finishing with a +2 rating, his goal in the second period helped extinguish any hopes the Blackhawks had of a comeback as his score put Florida up 4-2 at 5:57 of the third period.
In his final season with Pittsburgh, Hornqvist scored 17 goals in 52 games.
"He makes our life easier as coaches," Quenneville said. "I think something like that with our team, we can be quiet at times. I think he makes sure we find a way to get back on track quickly."

5. DRIEDGER GETS THE JOB DONE

From start to finish, Driedger looked cool as a cucumber between the pipes.
Finishing with 25 saves, the 26-year-old goaltender stopped all 17 shots he faced at 5-on-5, with the only two goals the Blackhawks could get past him coming at 4-on-4 and on the power play.
Driedger's biggest save came in the second period when he flashed some leather to rob Philipp Kurashev of what looked to be a sure goal.

"It felt great out there," said Driedger, who made the first opening night start of his career. "I had a little pre-game nerves going into it, but I think we all did. You know, if you don't feel a little nervous before the first one of the season, there might be something wrong with you. I felt good. When the puck dropped, you just go out there and have fun. I really enjoyed being out there."
Winning the backup join in Florida after starting out in the AHL last season, Driedger was on top of his game in 2019-20, going 7-2-1 with a 2.05 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and one shutout. With Sergei Bobrovsky expected back on Tuesday, the Panthers are confident they've found a solid one-two punch in net to backstop them throughout the rest of the season.
"I thought he played very well," Quenneville said of Driedger. "I think we saw what we saw last year - his composure, his patience, and that confidence and poise that he seems to play with -- in a big game right of the bat. First game of the year, he gets an opportunity to start, get the net and he did what he had to do. He looked big. He looked patient. A big factor in tonight's win."