5 Takeaways: Panthers Strike Early, Beat Stars to Stay Perfect

SUNRISE, Fla. - Inspired after watching their younger counterparts claw their way to a win in Dallas on Wednesday, Panthers veterans came out firing in a 6-3 win over the Stars on Friday at FLA Live Arena.
"The team that went to Dallas competed hard," defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. "That was nice to see from all those young kids out there. I think that kind of carried over to us. We wanted to do exactly what they did. We wanted to come out, work hard and get the win. That's exactly what we did tonight."

While most fans were still looking for their seats, Aleksander Barkov put the Panthers on top when he carried the puck over the blue line and, with one flick of the wrist, fired a scorching shot from beyond the right circle past Anton Khudobin and into the twine to make it 1-0 just 1:17 into the opening period.
Getting the usual "pre-game media bump," Markus Nutivaara then doubled Florida's advantage when, after a faceoff win from Sam Bennett in the offensive zone, he took a pass from Brandon Montour and one-timed a powerful shot through traffic and past a heavily-screened Khudobin to make it 2-0 at 10:10.
Continuing to pile on the goals from the blue line, two more defensemen increased the lopsided lead further when Kevin Connauton and Weegar lit the lamp at 12:38 and 16:00, respectively, to make it 4-0.

"I thought we had a really good the start," head coach Joel Quenneville said. "The first shot goes in, and then all of the sudden things are going really well for us. We had a lot of possession time. We were dangerous off the rush. I liked our speed and liked our puck movement. A lot of positives there tonight."
Starting the second period on the power play, the Stars finally got on the board. Flying up the left side of the ice, Denis Gurianov skated into the offensive zone and around a defender before sniping a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky from the bottom of the circle to make it a 4-1 game 49 seconds into the middle frame.
Getting that goal back in the waning seconds of the period, Jonathan Huberdeau collected a pass from Bennett, barreled down on Khudobin and stopped right at the top of the blue paint before sliding a shot around the goaltender to give the Panthers a commanding 5-1 lead going into the second intermission.
Bobrovsky, who made 11 saves, was replaced by Christopher Gibson to start the third period.
Still showing a lot of fight despite their deficit, the Stars made it a 5-2 game when Mavrik Bourque sent a quick pass through the slot onto the stick of Jason Robertson for a goal at 6:16. Pulling their goaltender in favor of the extra attacker, Gurianov then scored his second goal of the game to make it 5-3 at 17:56.
Stopping any would-be comeback attempt in its tracks, Sam Reinhart sealed the win for the Panthers when he cashed in on the Stars' empty net to make it a 6-3 game with 1:11 remaining in regulation.
With the win, Florida improved to 4-0-0 in the preseason, while Dallas fell to 0-1-2.
"There's no standings right now, but it's always a confidence builder when you're playing well in the preseason for everyone in the room," Connauton said. "It's a time to work on your systems and get in that game-shape, get in that game-mindset. We're doing a good job right now. Let's keep it going."
Here are five takeaways from Friday's win in Sunrise…

1. BARKOV READY TO GO

If the preseason is any indication, Barkov is setting himself up for another big season.
Picking up a pair of points in the first period, the Panthers captain got the party started tonight when he took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe, carried the puck into the offensive and buried a laser of a wrist shot from just a little bit beyond the right circle to make it a 1-0 contest just 1:17 after the puck had dropped.

Through two exhibition games, Barkov has compiled six points (one goal, five assists).
"We were talking the other day and I said that might be the best that I've ever seen Barky skate in the two practices we had this week," Quenneville said of the team's superstar centerman. "He seems to be moving extremely well. That line, they've been really good with one another. … With the speed off the rush between all three of them, there's going to be a hole somewhere [on the ice]. Barky looks ready."
The reigning Selke Trophy winner, Barkov also looked sharp on defense tonight.
For proof, just check out the clip in the tweet below.

The only player in franchise history to register six consecutive 50-point and 20-goal seasons, Barkov finished second on the Panthers in scoring last season with 58 points, including a team-high 26 goals.

2. NUTIVAARA NETS ONE

Even by regular-season game standards, this play was silky smooth.
Using his body to win a key draw in the offensive zone, Bennett slid the puck back to Montour who, without even the slightest hesitation, then tapped the rubber over to Nutivaara for a screaming one-timer that flew down the slot through traffic and into the net to make it 2-0 at 10:10 of the first period.

"It's nice to play these exhibition games," Nutivaara, who was traded to Florida just under a year ago, said after this morning's skate. "You get the feeling. I think the condition is way different when you play games rather than when you just workout and practice. Playing these games gets you into shape."
Prepping for his second season with the Panthers, Nutivaara recorded 10 assists in 30 games in 2020-21.

3. WEEGAR'S BIG GAME

Named the second star of tonight's game, Weegar did much more than just score a nice goal.
Seeing a team-leading 22:14 of ice time during the win, the long-haired defenseman finished the game with two points (one goal, one assist), two shots on goal, two hits, two blocked shots and a +3 rating.

"I thought all six D played well," Weegar said. "We got some goals from the back end tonight."
Finishing eighth in voting for the Norris Trophy last season, Weegar, who shined both with and without Aaron Ekblad, led all Panthers defensemen in scoring with a career-high 36 points (six goals, 30 assists) in 2020-21. Additionally, he also ranked second on the team in hits (118) and first in blocked shots (83).
With Ekblad and Weegar back together, the Panthers might have the top-defensive pairing in the NHL.

4. THE HUBERDEAU SHOW

It didn't take long for Huberdeau to whip out his patented stop-and-shoot goal.
With the Panthers flying into the offensive zone on a 3-on-2 rush, Huberdeau took a pass from Bennett before pumping the brakes at the top of the crease and sending both the puck and an avalanche of ice chips into the back of the net to extend Florida's lead to 5-1 with 12 seconds left in the second period.

"A lot of puck support," Quenneville said of Florida's attack. "A lot of movement as opposed to being stationary. The guys were making some nice plays. There were some nice plays out there tonight."
Florida's all-time leader in assists (330) and points (498), Huberdeau has paced the team in scoring in each of the last two seasons. In 2020-21, he finished tied for 11th in the entire NHL with 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists) in 55 games, including a team-high 24 points (five goals, 19 assists) on the power play.
Bringing some physicality to the ice tonight as well, he racked up three hits against the Stars.

5. BOB WARMS UP

Although he didn't see many shots, Bobrovsky was able to get his feet wet tonight.
Making his first start of the preseason, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped 11 of 12 shots over two periods before - as part of the pre-game plan - he was replaced by Gibson to start the third period. With his only goal-against tonight coming on the power play, he denied all 11 shots he faced at 5-on-5.
"He didn't get a ton of work there, but we still stayed with the plan," Quenneville said.
Going 19-8-2 with a 2.91 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 31 games last season, Bobrovsky is expected to play in two of Florida's final three preseason games - all against Tampa.