5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers Score 6 Straight in Comeback Win vs. Sabres

SUNRISE, Fla. - Trailing 4-1, the Panthers knew they could come back.
Why?
Well, because they did the same exact thing against the Capitals on Tuesday.
Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat for the second straight game, the "Comeback Cats" erased a three-goal deficit once again to defeat the Sabres by a score of 7-4 at FLA Live Arena on Thursday night.

"Players realize what's going on, and they're not happy," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of his team's ability to claw its way out of tough situations. "I think we just kind of start rolling. It was wave after wave. We grabbed some momentum. We had key players really step their game up."
Opening the scoring moments after killing off a power play for the Panthers, the Sabres broke the ice when Vinnie Hinostroza took a cross-ice pass from Ramus Dahlin, paused for just a moment, and then rifled a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky into the top of the net to make it 1-0 just 3:21 into the first period.
A little over four minutes later, Dylan Cozens scored to double the lead and make it a 2-0 game at 7:41.
Lighting the lamp for a second time, Hinostroza, who appeared in nine games with Florida last season, then capped off the scoring outburst for the Sabres in the period when he received a pass from Cozens through the crease, dropped to one knee and blasted a one-timer into the cage to make it 3-0 at 14:25.
Despite that early deficit, the numbers hinted that the Panthers were poised to pushed back.
Starting with a breakaway attempt from Jonathan Huberdeau just a few minutes into the game, they recorded 11 more scoring chances by the end of the period. By comparison, the Sabres had just six. In addition to scoring chances, Florida led 23-13 in shot attempts and 3-1 in high-danger shot attempts.
"We controlled a lot of the offense in the first period," Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. "We had some defensive lapses and they ended up in the back of our net. They're not always going to end up in our net, but we have to be a little bit better. We fell behind early, but we're always resilient."
Helping the Panthers get on the board in the second period, Lucas Carlsson blasted a shot down the slot that caught a piece of a defender and sailed past Aaron Dell to trim the deficit to 3-1 at 9:57. But not too long after that, Casey Middlestadt answered with a five-hole goal for the Sabres to make it 4-1 at 11:16.
Following that goal, rookie Spencer Knight replaced Bobrovsky's in Florida's net.
"Just tried to change it up to try and change momentum a little bit there," Brunette said. "It wasn't anything with Bob. Our breakdowns were horrific in the first period, and we didn't give him any help. It was just trying to get some momentum since we gave it back to them a little after we got going."
Playing in his first game against the Sabres since he was traded to the Panthers in the offseason, Sam Reinhart then helped reignite the comeback when he carved out some good real estate in the slot and re-directed a quick point shot from Carlsson past Dell and into the cage to make it a 4-2 game at 12:32.
Bringing the Panthers back to within one goal, Ekblad then took a tape-to-tape feed from Huberdeau through the slot and snuck at shot just under Dell's left arm to suddenly make it a 4-3 contest at 15:40.
With a power play carrying over for the Panthers from the end of the second period into the third, Ekblad then struck again for the Panthers to tie the game when he chased down a rebound after a shot from Mackenzie Weegar and ripped a shot right past Dell to make it 4-4 just 1:07 into the final frame.
"The belief is fantastic," Ekblad said of Florida's signature resilience in the early goings of this season. "After that second period, we were in the room, obviously not in a favorable position down 4-3, but we had that power play, and you could feel the confidence in the room. It showed in that third period."
While Knight went on to stop all 19 shots he faced in relief, the biggest save of the game actually came from Eetu Luostarinen. With Knight pulled out of the net, the young Finn stuck his stick out in front of the empty cage to deny what looked like an easy goal for Zemgus Girgensons and keep the game tied.
Right after that incredible stop, Anton Lundell scored to put the Panthers up 5-4 at 8:05.

"I went to thank him because if he wouldn't have stopped that my goal wouldn't have counted," Lundell said when asked about Luostarinen's big play. "I went to thank him for a great job. He was good today."
With momentum fully on their side, the Panthers then padded their lead further when Huberdeau and Lundell each scored empty-net goals at 18:37 and 19:55, respectively, to secure the 7-4 win for Florida.
Improving to 16-4-3, the Cats will close out their homestand against the Blues on Saturday.
"We got that first goal, we could hear the fans and we knew we had a chance to win," Lundell said.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday's win in Sunrise…

1. CARLSSON NETS NO. 1

Carlsson is heading home with a nice souvenir.
By blasting a point shot off a defender and past Dell to get the Panthers on the board and make it 3-1 in the second period, the 24-year-old defenseman recorded the first NHL goal of his up-and-coming career.
"This is my fourth year in North America, so it's great to get in some games here," Carlsson said. "I've been kind of up and down between the AHL and NHL, so it's just great to get some confidence up here."

With his goal initially being credited to Reinhart, the celebration waited until the third period.
"When I heard it in the third period there, the fans were screaming," Carlsson said. "It was pretty cool."
Acquired by the Panthers in a multi-player trade with the Blackhawks last season, Carlsson has appeared in eight games in the NHL and 19 games in the AHL since the move. Doing a bit of everything against the Sabres, he tallied a goal, an assist, two hits, one block and one takeaway over 14:50 of ice time tonight.
"I've been getting more ice time, and that's helped me build confidence," Carlsson said.
With Gustav Forsling injured, the Panthers will need Carlsson to continue stepping up on the blue line.
"He looked fantastic out there," Ekblad said of Carlsson, who has notched a goal and two assists in eight games with Florida this season. "Scoring your first goal, that's huge. You'll remember it forever. You'll never remember the ones in between. Him playing with confidence is exactly what we need right now."
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Florida led 20-8 in shot attempts when Carlsson was on the ice tonight.

2. REINHART'S CAREER NIGHT

You felt this coming from the moment he stepped onto the ice for morning skate.
Facing off against his former team for the first time since being shipped from Buffalo to South Florida in the offseason, Reinhart racked up a career-high four points (one goal, three assists) against the Sabres.

"I thought he was great," Brunette said of Reinhart. "I think when Sammy moves his feet and kind of works and gets on pucks and uses his body, I think it enables him to make those plays. His IQ is off the charts. It was really fun watching that line play. They were a joy to watch tonight."
With his stick starting to catch fire, Reinhart's big performance tonight came just 48 hours after he scored the winner during Tuesday's come-from-behind win over the Capitals. Making a noticeable impact at both ends of the ice, he's now tallied 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 23 games this season.

3. EKBLAD TO THE BONE

You don't have to watch his cellys to know that Ekblad is oozing with confidence right now.
After scoring to make it a 4-3 game late in the second period, the Panthers No. 1 defenseman then tied things up just over a minute into the third when he buried a rebound on the power play to make it 4-4. Over his last two games, he's produced six points (two goals, four assists).

"Big for the confidence, for sure," Ekblad said of his scoring outburst. "But getting points is not what it's all about. It's about playing good D. Obviously, the points are nice and playing on the power play is nice, but at the end of the day it's all just about winning hockey games and playing good defense for me."
With Ekblad as the quarterback, Florida has scored three power play goals over the last two games.
"It was nice to see the puck moving around pretty good out there," Brunette said.
Looking better than ever after having his 2020-21 campaign cut short by an injury, Ekblad, at the time of this writing, is first among NHL defensemen in points (23) and plus/minus (+21), and second in goals (8).

4. HUBERDEAU'S HEATING UP

Huberdeau is a point-producing machine right now.
After dishing out three assists in Tuesday's win over the Capitals, the dynamic winger produced a season-high five points (one goal, four assists) in tonight's exciting comeback against the Sabres.
Making history, he's the first player in club history to post three-plus assists in consecutive games.

The third five-point game of his career, Huberdeau, who leads the Panthers and ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in scoring with 28 points, has notched eight points (one goal, seven assists) over his last two games.
"The way he controls the game is like no other player," Ekblad said of Huberdeau. "He does it at high speed, at slow speeds. He's able to control the game completely. It's fun to be out there with him. He's always looking for that extra play to score. He's one of the best in the league, for sure."
When Huberdeau was on the ice at 5-on-5 tonight, Florida led 13-4 in scoring chances.

5. LUNDELL LIGHTS THE LAMP

With the building buzzing after Luostarinen's game-saving play, all Lundell had to do was shoot.
Setting up in the slot, the rookie center took a backdoor feed from Carter Verhaeghe and sniped a shot past Dell to put the Panthers up 5-4 in the third period for the second game-winning goal of his career.
Not done there, he then helped ice the game away with an empty-netter for his first multi-goal game.

"For me, the team is always first," Lundell said. "But, of course, I want to score goals and help the team win by scoring goals and making some plays. In the last few games, we've had some great chances, but had a bit of bad luck, a lot of posts, and it hasn't gone our way. Today, it felt good to get the puck in."
A two-way wizard, Lundell, who is still only 20, also had two blocks, two takeaways and led Florida's forwards with 3:39 of ice time on the penalty kill (which went a perfect 3-for-3) against the Sabres.