RECAP: Panthers 4, Flyers 1

PHILADELPHIA – Sam Reinhart found the back of the net twice to reach the storied 50-goal mark and help lead the Florida Panthers to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

In addition to helping the Panthers (46-20-5) snap out of a four-game losing streak and move into a tie with the Boston Bruins (41-16-15) for first place in the Atlantic Division, Reinhart became just the second player in franchise history to record a 50-goal campaign, joining Pavel “The Russian Rocket” Bure.

“It's just such an elite class and there will be very few people whose names that score 50 that you don't know,” said Panthers head coach Paul Maurice. “I mean you've just heard of them because they're the superstars. You know five of those are shorthanded goals, right? That tells you he's playing both sides of the puck. Sam is a battler and he's a team-first style player, and we're just so fortunate to have him.”

Feeling each other out in the beginning half of the first period, Reinhart put the Panthers on the board first with his 49th goal of the season on an assist from Anton Lundell to make it 1-0 at the 10:34 mark.

Weathering the storm of a penalty-filled first period, Florida’s seventh-ranked penalty kill stopped three Philadelphia power plays in the opening 20 minutes while surrendering just two shots in the process.

With not a lot of offense at either end in the first period -- just 11 combined shots – most of the damage was done in the trenches where the Panthers pummeled the Flyers to the tune of a 16-5 lead in hits.

A leader in the team’s toughness department, defenseman Niko Mikkola recorded five hits.

“Niko Mikkola, that guy was an incredible find for our team,” said Maurice. “He went corner to corner heavy all night long.”

Making the most out of a golden opportunity just 55 seconds into the second period, trade-deadline pickup Vladimir Tarasenko struck on the power play to extend the lead to 2-0 on a feed from Reinhart.

Keeping the Flyers scoreless through 40 minutes, Anthony Stolarz made nine saves in the second period, including a few highlight-reel saves that silence the crowd and left Philadelphia’s skaters in disbelief.

Improving to 14-5-2 with tonight’s win, Stolarz’s save percentage has now crept up to a stellar .927%.

“I just kind of just stopped the puck and tried to control the rebound as best as I could,” said Stolarz, whose goals-against average is under two. “I know they had a couple chances where the rebound kind of went to them and they kind of fanned on it, so it's good to be lucky sometimes. When the guys need a big save though, just try to come up, change the momentum and keep the score pretty close here.”

Putting the pressure on Philadelphia, Carter Verhaeghe gloved down a puck in the neutral zone, flew around a defender and beat Felix Sandstrom with a wrist shot from the left circle to put the Panthers up 3-0 at 4:43 of the third period with his 32nd goal of the season and second within a 24-hour stretch.

On the power play and in desperation mode, the Flyers, with their goaltender pulled for a lethal 6-on-4 advantage, spoiled Stolarz’s valiant bid for a shutout when Bobby Brink scored to make it 3-1 at 12:54.

Stopping any would-be comeback, Reinhart cashed on the empty net to put Florida up 4-1 at 18:48.

“I think we built off last game,” said Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour. “The last week and a half, two weeks, we haven't liked the way we've been playing. It's going to happen with long games and long seasons, so we wanted to get back to what made us successful this year and I thought we did a good job there.”

THEY SAID IT

“Going into the two hostile environments obviously MSG and then here, meant a little more for me because you know obviously I played here early my career, but the most important thing is just getting points right now.” – Anthony Stolarz

“I think he's (Anthony Stolarz) grown as a goaltender. He just gives us great nights. Big saves, calm in the net, just an incredible find for us.” – Paul Maurice

CATS STATS

- Per NHL stats, Sam Reinhart is with tied David Pastrnak (20) for the most go-ahead goals in 2023-24.

- Steven Lorentz led the Panthers with seven hits.

- Brandon Montour (three assists) and Sam Reinhart (two goals, one assist) each recorded three points.

- Fifteen different Panthers registered at least one hit.

- Eetu Luostarinen saw a season-high 20:05 of ice time.

WHAT’S NEXT

With the top spot in the Atlantic Division on the line down the home stretch, the Panthers will kick off a three-game homestand with a battle against the Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets for all upcoming games can be purchased HERE.