RECAP: Panthers 4, Utah Hockey Club 1

SALT LAKE CITY – What did Aleksander Barkov like about tonight’s win?

“Everything,” the Florida Panthers captain said.

Closing out their two-game trip by pocketing a pair of important points, the Panthers steadily built up their game in a 4-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center on Wednesday.

“It was what we wanted to do,” Barkov said. “We wanted to come in, play our style of game, a low-scoring game. We got the two empty-netters there at the end. I think it was a good game by us. Obviously, a great game by Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky) as well.”

Getting a boost before the puck even dropped, the Panthers bolstered their defense with the return of two key players from injury as both Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola suited up.

Ekblad had missed one game, while Mikkola was sidelined for six.

With much more flash than physicality in the first period, the Panthers and Utah combined for just 11 shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes, with Florida finishing with a 7-4 edge.

Earning a power play early in the second period, the Panthers broke the ice when Sam Reinhart beat Karel Vejmelka with a fiery one-timer from the slot to make it 1-0 at 1:05.

Climbing the all-time leaderboard, Reinhart has now surpassed Scott Mellanby for second place on the franchise’s power-play goal list with the 67^th of his career with the Panthers.

“Good for him and good for the power play,” head coach Paul Maurice said.

Helping the Panthers maintain their lead, Bobrovsky stopped 17 shots in the middle frame.

Doubling the lead in the third period, Jesper Boqvist, who entered the game with points in five of his last seven games, took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe and ripped a shot from the slot that got a piece of Vejmelka’s glove before heading into the net to make it 2-0 at 1:48.

“Sometimes they go in, and sometimes not,” Boqvist said. “I feel like our line played pretty well. We’re working hard and winning a lot of pucks down low, trying to play with speed. When we have time and space to do stuff, we will.”

From there, penalties proved costly for the Panthers.

After coming up short on their first two trips to the power play in the period, the third time was the charm for Utah as Logan Cooley lit the lamp to cut Florida’s lead to 2-1 at 13:41.

Stomping out any would-be comeback for Utah, Boqvist regained the two-goal cushion for the Panthers when he cashed in on the empty net from deep in his own zone to make it 3-1 at 17:59.

At 19:38, Eetu Luostarinen tacked on another empty-netter to make it 4-1.

Finishing strong, the Panthers led 12-3 in scoring chances at 5-on-5 in the third period.

“I liked the bench,” Maurice said. “I liked the mood of it. They’re pulling for each other, supporting each other, battling and grinding. Understanding we come into this building, these teams come wired for us and are ready. Get out of the first period even. We’re good on the road like that. Then I thought we built. Halfway through the first period we got our game going.”

THEY SAID IT

“He’s earned it. We’ve used him at left and right wing, and he’s played center for us. He’s played with different people. He’s a really competitive guy.” – Paul Maurice on Jesper Boqvist

“Speed, skill, hard work. He works really hard, but he also has that ability to take over games with his speed and skill. He has a great shot. We’ve seen that all year in practices and games. He’s fun to watch. He’s one of those players where it’s just a matter of time until he breaks out, and he’s breaking out right now. It’s been fun to watch.” – Aleksander Barkov on Jesper Boqvist

“He’s so good, right? It’s so fun to watch. Playing against him for a couple years, it’s not easy.” – Jesper Boqvist on Sergei Bobrovsky

CATS STATS

- Carter Verhaeghe extended his point streak to three games.

- The Panthers are 7-for-8 on the penalty kill over their last two games.

- The Panthers have four players with at least 30 points this season.

- Sergei Bobrovsky is the third goaltender to earn a win against 33 NHL franchises.

- Sam Bennett won a team-high nine faceoffs.

- Matthew Tkachuk and Jesper Boqvist each recorded five hits.

- The Panthers held Utah to just eight shot attempts at 5-on-5 in the third period.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Grab your popcorn.

Meeting for the third time this season, the Panthers will try to improve to 3-0-0 against the Boston Bruins when the two rivals clash at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.