RECAP: Panthers 7, Sharks 2

SAN JOSE – The goals were flowing freely in the Golden State.

Enjoying a scoring explosion in the penultimate game of their road trip, the Florida Panthers lit the lamp early and often in a 7-2 win over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Improving to 29-18-3, 12 different players recorded at least one point in the win.

“I think at the start we made a big effort to shoot a lot and get guys to the net,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk, who tallied a team-high three points (one goal, two assists). “We tried not to pass up any good opportunities and just tried to be more confident with the puck tonight.”

Netting his third goal of the season, Nate Schmidt opened the scoring for the Panthers when he intercepted a clearing attempt and beat Alexander Georgiev with a booming slap shot from the high slot to make it 1-0 at 5:47 of the first period.

Evening the score for the Sharks, Cody Ceci tipped in a shot from Jake Walman to make it 1-1 at 6:50. Just 32 seconds later, rookie Will Smith put San Jose up 2-1 when he fired a rebound past Sergei Bobrovsky from the right side of the net at 7:22.

Pushing back for the Panthers, Sam Bennett crashed the crease, found a loose puck under a pile of bodies and poked it across the goal line to make it 2-2 at 14:27.

“We were able to change the game,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “They (the Sharks) came out really strong and really fast, and good on them. They got a lead, but I thought with around six minutes left in the first period we had a little more physicality in our game.”

Back in the lineup after missing seven games with an upper-body injury, Aaron Ekblad sent the Panthers ahead before the first intermission when he took a pass from Tkachuk and beat Georgiev with a laser from near the blue line to make it 3-2 at 17:08.

In his return, Ekblad saw 18:50 of ice time.

“It felt good to get my feet under me,” said Ekblad, who credited Florida’s training staff with helping him have a seamless transition back to game speed. “I thought the guys played really well. Bob (Bobrovsky) played amazing. Just a fun game to come back to.”

Tacking on another goal for the Panthers in the second period, A.J. Greer, who assisted on Bennett’s first-period goal, took a beautiful stretch pass from Tomas Nosek, skated in on a breakaway and slipped a shot through Georgiev’s five-hole to make it 4-2 at 3:01.

Following that goal, Yaroslav Askarov took over in San Jose’s net.

On the power play, the Panthers kept on rolling when Tkachuk, showing off his all-world hands, set up shop on the left since of the net and deftly tipped in a shot from Aleksander Barkov to make it 5-2 at 5:35.

“When his game is on, you see those tip-ins around the net that very few players can do,” Maurice said. “That’s when his timing is right. Those guys were really smart and really efficient in the game tonight. They created things when it was there, and then they left it when it wasn’t.”

Giving the Panthers a scorer on a fourth different line, Jesper Boqvist continued his outstanding season and added to the lead when he took a filthy feed from Anton Lundell in transition and beat Askarov from the slot to make it 6-2 at 13:07.

Closing out the scoring explosion in the second period, Sam Reinhart took a tap pass from Tkachuk, who went flying through the slot to make it happen, and fired a shot into the back of the cage to put the Panthers up 7-2 at 16:25.

In the third period, the Panthers shut the door.

Finishing with 21 saves, Bobrovsky only had to face four shots in the final frame.

Even with a big lead, the Panthers never took their foot off the gas.

“It doesn’t matter what the score is, we have to play our style for all 60-plus minutes of the game,” Tkachuk said. “It was one of those games tonight where we had the lead for most of it and played very well with it, and even in the third some of the habits were good.”

THEY SAID IT

“Just to get him feeling good about being back. There’s always some anxiety when you’re out for a while, and also our bench appreciates that. The minutes were right on our blue line.” – Paul Maurice on Aaron Ekblad scoring in his return

“Tomorrow is coming quick with 5 o’clock game. We travel tonight to Vegas and will play less than 24 hours from the start of tonight. It’s going to be a tough back-to-back. For us to keep the positive momentum and build good habits is going to help us.” – Matthew Tkachuk on closing out the road trip against the Golden Knights

“Every guy’s got a hand in every game, no doubt about it.” – Aaron Ekblad on tonight's win

CATS STATS

- Aleksander Barkov registered his 751st career point and to surpass Olli Jokinen (750) for the fourth-most points by a Finnish player in NHL history.

- Matthew Tkachuk collected his 70th multi-point game as Panther, moving him past Nathan Horton (69) for the eighth most in franchise history.

- Uvis Balinskis had a team-high four hits.

- Gustav Forsling, Nate Schmidt and Jesper Boqvist all finished with a +3 plus/minus rating.

- Tomas Nosek won a team-high 11 faceoffs.

- Sergei Bobrovsky made six high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s three down and one to go.

Wrapping up their four-game road trip, the Panthers will face-off against the Vegas Golden Knights in a rematch of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch the game in South Florida, click HERE.