5 Takeaways: Panthers Sweep Preseason Doubleheader with Predators

SUNRISE, Fla. - It's only the preseason, but the Panthers are perfect.
Putting their skills to the test for the first time this preseason, the Panthers came out on top in both games of their annual split-squad doubleheader against the Predators on Sunday at FLA Live Arena.
After winning 5-4 in overtime in Game 1, the Panthers completed the sweep with a 3-1 win in Game 2.

"I thought they were good games," head coach Joel Quenneville said. "We played hard."
In the first game, Frank Vatrano led the way with a hat trick.
Following a scoreless first period, Tanner Jeannot opened the scoring for the Predators when he roofed a shot over Sam Montembeault from just outside the crease to make it 1-0 at 4:58 of the second. Adding to Nashville's lead, Yakov Trenin buried a short-side snipe for a shorthanded goal to make it 2-0 at 11:30.
Lightning the fuse for what would prove to be an eventual afternoon, Vatrano collected his first goal of the game when he crashed the net following a shot from Patric Hornqvist and jammed a rebound past Connor Ingram to cut Florida's deficit in half and make it 2-1 with 2:36 remaining in the second period.
"With it being the first game, you've obviously got some pre-game jitters," Vatrano said. "I haven't played a game in a while, but there some was familiarity out there. A lot of young guys and guys playing in their first preseason game. It was good for those guys to get that game under their belt."
After the second period, both teams replaced their goaltenders.
Finding the back of the net for a second time, Vatrano pulled the Panthers even just 56 seconds into the third period when - following some great work by Hornqvist and Zac Dalpe behind Nashville's cage - he blasted a one-timer from the low slot straight past Devin Cooley to get the matchup all tied up at 2-2.
Continuing the goal-scoring spree for Florida, Aleksi Heponiemi took a pass from Kevin Connauton, flew up the left side of the ice and fired a laser of a shot into the top left corner of the net to make it 3-2 at 12:12. But just 1:19 after that, Rem Pitlick quickly answered with a goal for the Predators to make it 3-3.

Providing the Panthers with a spark, rookie Serron Noel dropped the gloves with Joseph LaBate at 13:29.
Just 33 seconds after the brawl, which ended with Noel bringing fans to their feet as he skated into the penalty box, Vatrano capped off his hat trick with a power play goal to give Florida a 4-3 lead at 14:02.
"That one is credited to him," Vatrano said. "A big momentum swing there. I think we got a goal next shift. A young kid stepping up like that, it shows he's got guts. That's what you need on a hockey team."

With fans getting even more bang for their buck (as if two games for the price of one wasn't already enough), Jeannot sent the game to overtime when he tallied his second goal of the afternoon at 17:06.
In the extra frame, the Panthers would need less than a minute to care of business.
Going with Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Bennett to start, the trio sent the Predators packing on the first shift of overtime when Huberdeau dished a no-look, through-the-legs pass to Sam Bennett, who then rocketed a one-timer past Cooley from in close to lock in the thrilling 5-4 victory.

"I just tried to get out of the play in case it got turned over," Ekblad said. "I just got to watch the show."
Not a bad start, right? From there, it was one down and one to go.
But just like in Game 1, the nightcap of the doubleheader also took a bit of time to get off the ground.
After neither team scored in the opening 20 minutes, the Panthers drew first blood when, following a faceoff win from Aleksander Barkov in the offensive zone, Anthony Duclair took a pass form Brandon Montour and fired a one-timer over David Rittich's glove to make it 1-0 just 2:36 into the second period.
Cashing in on the power play for a second time in less than five minutes, Barkov picked up his second assist of the game when he delivered a pinpoint pass through a pair of defenders in the slot and right to Carter Verhaeghe, who then lifted a quick shot into the far side of the net to make it a 2-0 game at 7:25.
"He made a great play," Verhaeghe said of Barkov's pass. "He's an unbelievable player."

Finally getting one past rookie goaltender Spencer Knight, who finished his first start of the preseason with 29 saves on 30 shots, Egor Afanasyev scored from in tight at 17:57 to trim Nashville's deficit to 2-1.
With two assists already in his back pocket, Montour then garnered his third point of the night and sealed up the win for the Panthers when he beat Rittich to make it 3-1 at 10:22 of the third period.
In addition to Montour, Barkov also compiled three points - all assists - against the Predators.
"You always want to win," Montour said of the sweep. "Whether it's preseason, playoffs or regular season, you want to treat every game the way you'd treat another game. I think we did that tonight."
Here are five takeaways from Sunday's successful doubleheader…

1. EKBLAD'S BACK

The loudest cheer of the doubleheader came before the puck even dropped.
Back on the ice in Sunrise in front of fans for the first time since an injury cut his 2020-21 season short back in March, Ekblad received a rousing ovation when he was announced as a starter in Game 1.
"As soon as I stepped on the ice for warmups, I felt amazing," said Ekblad, who thanked the passionate home crowd for their warm welcome. "You forget what it's like being out there. It's like nothing else."
Looking no worse for wear while skating back alongside MacKenzie Weegar on the blue line, Ekblad, who led all NHL defensemen with 11 goals at the time of his injury last season, posted three shots, one takeaway and a +1 rating over 24:19 of ice time in his first real competitive game in over six months.
"That guy's a machine," Vatrano said of Ekblad. "He put in a lot of work this summer. Obviously, that injury last year was really tough for us and obviously for him. To see the work that he put in this summer to get back to full health and in really good shape, it's great to see. He's a really big part of our team."
When asked about his seamless transition, Ekblad said the early intensity of training camp helped.
"The first two days of training camp there were tough," he said. "We were skating pretty heavy, so to get out there, we were joking that we didn't find our legs until late in the third period. It started to feel really good. Obviously, it was really great to be back on the ice and feel the puck again and feel good."
Playing in all situations, Ekblad saw ample ice time on both the power play (4:48) and penalty kill (4:43) in his return.
"He worked hard all summer," Quenneville said. "He was really diligent in the gym in doing everything he could to get himself prepared. His first game in a long time, he played a lot of minutes. I think that's going to help the progress."

2. HATS ON THE ICE

It won't count toward his career goal total, but the hats still went flying onto the ice.
Doing a lot of the heavy lifting on offense in Game 1, Vatrano scored three times - including twice in the third period - to help the Panthers get to overtime and set the scene for Bennett's game-winning goal.
In 58 games last season, the speedy winger scored 18 goals.

"The biggest thing for me is team success," said Vatrano, who has recorded two career hat tricks in the NHL. "Everyone in that room wants to win. We have the team to do it this year. … We've just got to take it one day at a time. We don't want to look too far ahead. We've got to stay even keeled."
On a line with Noel Acciari and Hornqvist to start training camp, Vatrano, who fired off six shots in 15:37 of ice time against the Predators, believes the newly-minted trio is showing off lots of potential early on.
"I think we all complement each other really well," he said. "We play hard-nosed hockey behind the net and get into those places. We like playing hard. I think we gel really well together."
Hornqvist tallied the primary assist on two of Vatrano's three goals.

3. A GOOD KNIGHT

After the Panthers opted to split time between two netminders in Game 1, Knight patrolled the crease for all 60 minutes of Game 2, turning aside 29 of 30 shots while looking calm and composed throughout.
"Boy, he looked great," Quenneville said. "Really solid. He really moved well. He anticipates plays, he challenges, he comes out and he takes away dangerous space. He looks big and he's very efficient."

Although he's still a rookie, Knight got some great experience last season.
Joining the Panthers in March after a stellar career at Boston College, the 20-year-old former first-round pick went on to post a 4-0-0 record, 2.32 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in the regular season and a 1-1-0 record with a 2.06 goals-against average and .933 save percentage in the postseason.
Preparing for his first tour of duty in the NHL, Knight couldn't have asked for a better start.
"We have all the confidence in the world back there with him and [Sergei Bobrovsky]," Montour said.

4. MONTOUR'S POINTS

Even after putting up three points against the Predators, Montour knows he can be even better.
"Shaking a little bit of rust off," he said of his performance. "The pace in the scrimmages is a little bit different than in games. It was nice to chip in offensively. There were a couple shifts there that I'd like to have back, but that comes and goes with the first or second preseason game. Just keep getting better."

Heading into his first full season with the Panthers after being acquired at the trade deadline in February from the Sabres in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick, Montour, who signed a three-year extension this offseason, posted two goals and two assists over 12 games to close out last season in South Florida.
Even though most of that time was spent alongside Markus Nutivaara, Montour has been paired with Gustav Forsling in the early stages of training camp. Despite having "lots of options" to play with on the blue line, Quenneville said he's liked some of the early returns from the new pairing, especially tonight.
"I thought [Forsling] had a nice game, and Monty had a nice game as well," he said.

5. PLAYING WITH POWER

The Panthers haven't worked on their power play yet in training camp.
With that in mind, what we saw in the doubleheader should certainly be encouraging. After going 1-for-6 on the man advantage in Game 1, the Panthers went 2-for-5 in Game 2.

"That's one thing we need to do as a team in this league," Verhaeghe said. "Special teams were huge in the playoffs last year. I think that's a big reason why we lost last year. We have a lot of weapons and a lot of great players. Anyone you get out there with is fun to play with. It'll be fun this year."
Lots of weapons indeed. With no shortage of talented players to pick from, the Panthers plan to start tinkering with units soon.
"There's a lot of opportunity when we put our power play lineup together -- who's on the one unit and who's on the next unit," Quenneville said. "It's something we can sort out in camp. We haven't practiced it yet, so on Wednesday or Thursday we'll probably get some time there."
In 2020-21, the Panthers ranked 15th in the league with a 20.5% success rate on the man advantage.