5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers show 'resilience and grit' in win over Penguins

The Panthers wouldn't let tired legs stop them from getting another two points.
Completing a sweep of their back-to-back set on the road, the Panthers struck early and then held on late to secure a stirring 4-3 win over the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
Sticking in first place in the Atlantic Division, Florida improved to 39-13-5 on the season.

"I really liked our resilience and grit," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said of his team's effort. "In certain situations, in puck battles down the stretch, I thought we did a lot of good things that allowed us to win the hockey game. We really buckled down and defended."
Even though they were on the ice in Buffalo a little less than 24 hours earlier, the Panthers, who bested the Sabres 6-1, were the team that came out flying after the puck dropped in Pittsburgh.
Opening the scoring, Sam Reinhart weaved his way through a few defenders before the puck skipped up in the air in the low slot. Keeping his eye on the rubber, the Panthers forward then batted the puck out of mid-air past Tristan Jarry to make it 1-0 at 12:43 of the first period.
Adding to the lead, Aaron Ekblad took a pass from Aleksander Barkov and threaded a point shot through traffic and into the back of the net to make it 2-0 just a few minutes later at 14:38.
"Good start," Ekblad told Bally Sports Florida during the first intermission. "Simple plays, getting pucks deep. We're winning faceoffs, getting pucks to the net from the point and getting layers in front of the net. We're constantly in front of [Jarry's] eyes and it's proving to be a good strategy."
In the second period, the Penguins made up all of that ground in the blink of an eye.
After Bryan Rust fired a shot off a defender's stick and past Sergei Bobrovsky to cut Pittsburgh's deficit down to 2-1 at 3:07, Jake Guentzel, immediately following a faceoff win by Sidney Crosby in the offensive zone, buried a short-side snipe a mere nine seconds later to make it 2-2 at 3:16.
Finding the back of the net for the third straight game on the power play, Anthony Duclair put the Panthers back on top at 7:02 when he collected a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau, who pocketed his league-leading 60th assist, and beat Jarry from the slot to make it a 3-2 contest.
"I like the way we bounced back," Duclair said. "We stayed composed on the bench."
Making a wish at 11:11 of the third period, Carter Verhaeghe gave the Panthers a very crucial cushion when he barreled down on Jarry on a 2-on-1 rush with Barkov before sending a shot off the far post that made an audibly-pleasing ping before sailing into the net to make it a 4-2 game.
Pulling their goaltender to gain a 6-on-5 advantage with time winding down, the Penguins cut their deficit to just a single goal when Crosby scored to make it 4-3 at 17:51. But thanks to a few more big saves from Bobrovsky in crunch time, the Panthers held on until the final horn.
Already his 29th win of the season, Bobrovsky stopped 32 of 35 shots he faced.
"We're aspiring to be a great team," Brunette said.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's win in the Steel City.

1. BATTER UP

Like the rest of us, Reinhart clearly misses baseball.
Showing off his exceptional hand-eye coordination, the red-hot winger, after slicing his way through Pittsburgh's defense with a few nice moves, batted a floating puck out of mid-air and into the cage from the low slot to open the scoring and put the Cats up 1-0 in the first period.

Another outstanding pickup, Reinhart has been producing at a point-per-game pace during his first season with the Panthers, racking up 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points in 54 contests.
Always strong in the possession game, he also had the second-best Corsi for (52.38%) on the team at 5-on-5 against the Penguins, according to the numbers over at NaturalStatTrick.com.

2. FIFTY FOR FIVE

Ekblad is climbing the record books.
Becoming the fourth Panthers defenseman to record 50 points in a season, the former first-overall pick doubled the lead to 2-0 when he buried a shot through traffic in the first period.
With plenty of games left, Keith Yandle's record of 62 points appears to be within reach.

"He's playing so well this year," Huberdeau said of Ekblad. "Even last year before he got hurt he was playing well. I think he just came back from his injury - which is never easy - and he's been tremendous. Defensively, offensively, he's doing everything. He scored a nice goal tonight."
In contention for the Norris Trophy, Ekblad, at the time of this writing, ranks fifth among NHL defensemen with a career-high 50 points, while also sitting in second place in goals with 15. A workhorse on the blue line, he saw a team-high 27:27 of ice time tonight.
"He's a big part of our team," Huberdeau said.

3. DUKE DOES IT AGAIN

The Duke can't be stopped.
Entering tonight's matchup with at least two power play goals in each of their previous four games, the Panthers added another in the second period against the Penguins when Duclair took a pass from Huberdeau and scored in stride with a wrist shot from the slot to make it 3-2.

"He's a guy with a great shot and great poise with the puck," Huberdeau said of his high-scoring linemate. "It's good to see him scoring some goals. We know he has a really good shot. He's showed it in the past three games, and hopefully he's going to keep going like that."
Enjoying an offensive resurgence in South Florida, Duclair has now matched his career-high goal total of 23 -- a mark he set during the 2019-20 season with the Senators. Additionally, his 44 points equal the career-high total he notched with the Coyotes all the way back in 2015-16.

4. HUBY'S HELPERS

There have been three 60-assist seasons in Panthers history.
Huberdeau has two of them.
With the primary helper on Duclair's power play tally, the dynamic winger not only increased his league-leading assist total to 60, but also pushed his point total to 78 to climb within one point of Edmonton's duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for first place on the NHL's scoring list.
Of his assists, 37 have been primary.
"A huge win for us, especially on a back-to-back," Huberdeau said.
A model of offensive consistency, he hasn't gone more than one game without recording a point since mid-November, producing 64 points (15 goals, 49 assists) in 42 games in that torrid span.

5. SWAGGY SNIPES

The Territory Talk bump remains a very real thing.
Scoring in both halves of the back-to-back, Verhaeghe provided the Panthers with what held up as the game-winning goal in third period against the Penguins when he looked off Barkov on a 2-on-1 rush before burying a far-side snipe off the post and in to increase the advantage to 4-2.
In the four games during his post-podcast week, he notched four points (two goals, two assists).

"Sometimes it's a little frustrating when the bounces don't go your way, but you stick with it," Verhaeghe said of snapping out of his brief scoring drought. "Goals in the last two games, so sometimes they're going in and sometimes they're not. You've just got to stay positive."
Already setting a new career-high in points with 42, Verhaeghe has now matched the career-best 18 goals that he scored during his first successful season with the Panthers in 2020-21.
As for the key to his patented far-side laser, he's not giving away anything.
"I don't to reveal too much of my secrets, but I like shooting there a little bit," he laughed.
To listen to Verhaeghe on Territory Talk, check out the audio source below.

BONUS: LUNDELL UPDATE

The news was good on Anton Lundell.
After exiting last night's game in Buffalo with a lower-body injury, Brunette announced prior to puck drop that the rookie sensation is considered day-to-day and shouldn't miss too much time.
"We don't expect it to be too long," Brunette said.
At the time of this writing, Lundell ranks fifth among NHL rookies in goals (14) and points (38).