5 TAKEAWAYS: Third line shines as Panthers end trip with win in Winnipeg

The Panthers are heading home with some key points in their pocket.
Taking three out of five games during their tough trek through the Western Conference, the Panthers climbed back into first place in the NHL with a 5-3 win over the Jets at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.
Winning 11 of their last 14 games, the Panthers now sit at 29-9-5 on the season.

"Coming off a loss in Seattle we wanted to bounce back and play a solid road game," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said of finishing out the road trip on a high note. "That's something that we talked about over the trip. I think we did a god job of coming out in the first and kind of responding there."
A response spearheaded by the team's third line.
Gaining momentum with some smooth puck movement, the Panthers opened the scoring when Mason Marchment redirected a shot from Anton Lundell into the top of the cage from the slot to make it 1-0 at 2:09. Just 6:10 later, Paul Stastny then buried a rebound to get the Jets on the board and make it 1-1.
Trading goals again later in the period, Marchment lit the lamp a second time to briefly put Florida up 2-1 at 12:06, but then Kyle Connor answered with a goal for Winnipeg to bring the score to 2-2 at 12:57.
With the third line continuing to roll, the Panthers regained the lead just before the first intermission when Marchment settled down a loose puck before spinning around and firing a shot toward the net that bounced off of Lundell's knee and sailed past Connor Hellebuyck to make it a 3-2 game at 17:33.
"We had to come out hot, and we did," Marchment said. "A good start for the boys."
Finding the back of the net on the power play, Pierre-Luc Dubois one-timed a pass from Cole Perfetti past Sergei Bobrovsky to even things and make it a 3-3 game at 3:30 of the second period. Putting the Panthers back on top, Verhaeghe then forcibly sent a rebound past Hellebuyck to make it 4-3 at 9:42.
With Bobrovsky standing tall between the pipes, the Panthers added one more goal in the third period for good measure when Sam Bennett followed up on a shot from Anthony Duclair in transition and put the rebound into the back of the net to make it a 5-3 game with just 7:50 left on the clock in regulation.
Improving to 21-4-3, Bobrovsky finished with 32 saves, including 13 in the final frame.
"We had a really good checking mentality down the stretch and in the third period and we did the things we had to do to win a hockey game," Panthers interim head coach Andrew Brunette said. "At times it wasn't really pretty, but I thought we managed the puck really well and that gave us a chance to play in their zone. When we have the puck in the zone, we're a fun team to watch and fun team to play for."
Shutting the door, the Panthers are now 21-0-0 when leading after two periods this season.
"I think it's showing we're maturing as a group," Brunette said of that intriguing statistic. "We're not perfect, but that's a good step of really good teams that they're able to do that once they get the lead."
Leaving behind the sub-zero temperatures of Winnipeg, the Panthers will now head back to Sunrise to kick off a two-game homestand with a battle against the Golden Knights at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
"We got the two points and we're excited to come back to our home fans," Verhaeghe said.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's win in Winnipeg…

1. MARCHY MADNESS

The Panthers wanted to come out hot, so Marchment brought the gasoline.
Putting on a show in the first period, the sturdy forward scored two goals and added an assist over the course of 4:27 of ice time to help give the Cats a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission in Winnipeg.
Setting some personal bests, tonight marked the first multi-goal and three-point games of his career.

"He's an important piece to our team," Verhaeghe said. "He's so strong on the puck."
Described by Brunette as "unique" type of player, Marchment has been flourishing in his bottom-six role with the Panthers this season. Although he's been limited to just 18 games due to injuries, he's already set new career-highs in goals (4), assists (10) and points (13) while averaging 12:56 of ice time per tilt.
"We don't have a lot of players like him," Brunette said. "He creates a lot of different things with his size, his reach and his tenacity. He's got a physical presence. It was good to see him get a couple goals and make some plays and gain some confidence because we're going to need him going forward here."
In addition to his points, Marchment also fired off a team-high six shots on goal.

2. LUNDY TIME

Lundell continues to look like anything but a rookie.
Doing a lot of damage from the middle of the third line, the 20-year-old picked up a pair of points in Winnipeg, including netting his 10th goal of the season to put the Panthers up 3-2 in the first period.

"I love playing with him," Marchment said of Lundell. "Hopefully we can keep building that chemistry."
The 12th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Lundell, at the time of this writing, ranks tied for third among all rookies in points (26) and goals (10), while also sitting first in plus/minus (+16) and takeaways (42).
With his goal tonight, he became just the 14th player in franchise history to score 10 goals as a rookie.

3. THE BRONZE AGE

The Panthers often talk about how any one of their lines can beat you on any given night.
Tonight, it was the third that was on fire. Keeping the pressure cranked up for the entire game, the trio of Marchment (one goal, two assists), Lundell (one goal, one assist) and Sam Reinhart (two assists) combined for two goals and five assists.

"They had three goals in the first [period] and were buzzing right off the start," Verhaeghe said. "They gave us the spark we needed, especially coming off a tough loss in Seattle. They were great tonight."
Controlling play, the Panthers led 12-6 in shot attempts, 7-3 in shots on goal, 6-2 in scoring chances and 3-0 in goals during the 10:19 the third line was deployed at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com
"I think we read well off each other," Marchment said. "Me and Lundy have played together quite a bit through the last couple months, and Reino is a great player, great passer and sees the ice really well."
Their coach agrees.
"I thought they were excellent all through the game at both ends of the rink," Brunette said.

4. THE CARTER

It's no small task trying to contain Carter.
Netting his seventh goal in nine games, Verhaeghe continued to fan the flames of his hot streak when, after Aaron Ekblad blasted a heavy slap shot from the high slot, he whacked the ensuing rebound past Hellebuyck from the right side of the crease to give the Panthers a 4-3 advantage in the second period.

Producing seven goals and three assists over his last 11 games, Verhaeghe is tied for fourth on the team in scoring with 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists). Taking off ever since he signed with the Panthers prior to the 2020-21 campaign, he's now scored 33 goals in 85 games since taking his talents to The Territory.

5. BENNY KEEPS GOING

It only took 33 games for Bennett to match his career-high goal total.
Lighting the lamp for the 18th time this season, the grizzled forward extended Florida's lead to 5-3 in the third period when he followed up on a shot from Duclair and sent the rebound into the back of the cage.

"I always believed in myself and knew that I could contribute offensively," Bennett said.
Tied for the team-lead in goals, Bennett has been on a scoring tear ever since the calendar turned to January, finding the back of the net nine times during the eight games he's played so far in 2022.
In 43 games since being acquired by Florida in a trade last season, he's potted 24 goals.
"I love playing for this team," Bennett said. "I'm enjoying it."