5 Takeaways: Panthers Score Six, Top Flames in Luongo's Return

Roberto Luongo got all the goal support he needed in his return to the net, as the Florida Panthers topped the Calgary Flames 6-3 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday night.

Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Mike Matheson, Evgenii Dadonov and Jared McCann all found the back of the net for the Panthers, who have won seven of their last eight games to pull within six points of a playoff spot.
"We're finding the back of the net when we need to," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "Matheson with two [goals], McCann with one. I think it's getting spread out a little bit. I thought our big guys were our best players."
After missing more than two months with a groin injury, Luongo stopped 30 of 33 shots in his first game since Dec. 4. Boughner said it was the "perfect game" for Luongo to come back in, noting that Florida's defense didn't give the Flames "a lot to work with."
"He made some saves when he had to," Boughner said. "I thought we were pretty good in front of him. It's nice to see Louie come back and get that win."
The Panthers (26-23-6) have scored 17 goals through the first three stops on their crucial five-game road trip, which continues on Sunday night in Winnipeg.
"It's been a good run and I think at some point we've got to just keep digging in and getting as many points as we can right now," Boughner said. "We're still in the thick of it and we've got some games in hand. The guys are playing like it's our playoffs right now."
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's win in Calgary…

1. THE ROAD WARRIOR

For Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson, the Saddledome might as well have been the Thunderdome on Saturday night. The 23-year-old went coast to coast to put the Panthers up 1-0 just 1:09 into the first period with an absolute laser from the top of the right circle, expanding on his role as Florida's unofficial road warrior. "Well I was just trying to get it up to our forwards," Matheson said of the play. "It seemed like they all parted ways trying to take away the forwards, so I just kept skating and tried to get the puck on net." Matheson, however, wasn't done. Early in the third period, he added another goal from just below the blue line, extending Florida's lead to 5-2. The goal was Matheson's eighth away from home this season, putting him in a tie with Nashville's P.K. Subban for the most road goals among NHL defensemen. Matheson now ranks second among Panthers blueliners in goals (8) and takeaways (44), while also sitting third in points (21) and second in blocked shots (82).

2. AIN'T GOT TIME TO BLEED

As Jesse Ventura gruffly said in the 1987 action classic Predator, "I ain't got time to bleed." With less than a minute left in the first period on Saturday night, Florida held its collective breath when Aleksander Barkov dropped to the ice and began gushing blood after taking a high stick to the face from Flames defenseman Mark Giordano. There was no penalty on the play and Barkov finished the period in the dressing room. Bloodied but not beaten, Barkov came back with a vengeance in the second period, recording two points including his 19th goal of the season. The scoring play began after a great diving play by Aaron Ekblad kept the puck in the zone. From there, Evgenii Dadonov corralled the bouncing puck before sending it towards the net, where Barkov tapped it in to put the Panthers up 4-1 at 6:03. Barkov, 22, finished the game with a team-high three points (1-2-3) and has now registered 10 points (4-6-10) over his last seven games.

3. TRO WANTS MO

Vincent Trocheck scored his team-leading 22nd goal of the season on Saturday night on a beautiful give-and-go with Aleksander Barkov. After sending the puck up ice to Barkov, Trocheck got it right back right away, slicing through a pair of Flames blueliners before sending the puck over David Rittich's shoulder to put Florida up 2-1 on the power play just 58 seconds into the second period. After recording the first hat trick of his career on Monday in Edmonton, the 24-year-old center has now lit the lamp four times over the last three games, with his season-long, seven-game goal drought now seemingly like a distant memory. The goal was Trocheck's team-leading 10th with the extra attacker this season, placing him in a tie for eighth in the NHL in power play goals. With a two-point performance in Calgary, Trocheck has now recorded 16 points (7-9-16) over his last 14 games, which is tied with Barkov for the most on the team during that span.

4. UNLIMITED POWER

Another game, another power-play goal for the Panthers. Florida has now scored a power play goal in a season-long five consecutive games after going 2-for-4 on the man advantage on Saturday night. Since Feb. 1, the Panthers' power play is operating at the second-best rate in the NHL, going 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) over the last seven games. "I didn't like our power play early," Boughner said. "We made a few adjustments in between periods. We came out and we got two power play goals, which was huge." The Panthers will look to continue their torrid pace against Winnipeg's third-ranked penalty kill on Sunday.

5. #MSDSTRONG

The Panthers honored the victims of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland by wearing helmet decals and jersey patches during their game on Saturday night. To pay tribute of the 17 victims, all players sported a right-elbow patch that read "MSD" and a helmet decal of Stoneman Douglas' logo. "It's a community in mourning," Ekblad said. "We respect that. I think we can't wait to get home and do what we can to help." The Panthers are also teaming up with OneBlood and JetBlue to host a blood drive before their matchup against Washington on Thursday, Feb. 22. Fans are encouraged to donate outside of BB&T Center between 12-7 p.m. Fans attending the game, however, can donate from 6 p.m. through the end of the second intermission.

BONUS: McCANN REWARDED

After playing some very good hockey in recent weeks, Jared McCann was finally rewarded on Saturday night, snapping out of 15-game goal drought with his sixth goal of the season. "It was good to get the monkey off the back," he said.