Three takeaways: Panthers stay disciplined, Barkov steals show in shootout

It’s going to be a while before the Florida Panthers get to sleep in their own beds again.

On Tuesday, Florida began a five-game, 12-day road trip in the Pacific Northwest, visiting the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.

Both teams have been playing well of late, and the game had a postseason feel to it.

Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord was stellar in goal, keeping Seattle in the game as Florida pushed for a regulation win.

Ultimately, the Panthers persevered in a shootout, thanks to some late-game heroics from Sergei Bobrovsky and a beautiful goal from Sasha Barkov.

Let’s get to Tuesday’s takeaways:

DIDN’T STRAY FROM THEIR GAME

Generally, when the Panthers are doing their thing and performing at a level they’re happy with, the scoreboard will lean in their favor.

That wasn’t the case on Tuesday.

Between the frustratingly strong play of Daccord and Florida having a difficult time containing the Krakan’s rush game, there were plenty of opportunities for the Cats to start pressing and come out of their systems.

Alas, they stayed on course and were ultimately rewarded with two points.

“I like the fact that we didn't force a lot of things, even down by one and almost later in the second period,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “They defended hard, they defended well, they blocked a lot of shots, we missed the net a whole bunch, but they competed hard on that game. Sometimes you have a tendency then to want to change it and open it up, and I didn't think we did that. I thought we were pretty solid defensively, for the most part. They got some rush chances, but I didn't mind our positioning or our thought process, we just couldn't keep a puck in when we were pressing. It was a solid road game for us.”

REMINDER OF WHAT BARKOV IS CAPABLE OF

It was a rough night for Florida in terms of offense.

Not so much generating it, as they kept Daccord and the Kraken defenders very busy, but putting the puck in the net proved to be extremely difficult.

Fortunately for the Panthers, they have this guy named Barkov who can be absolutely magical on the ice, and he showed up in a big way in Seattle.

First, it was Barkov who wired a one-timer – of a sweet cross-ice pass from Sam Reinhart – that tied the game late in the second period.

Then later, with the game in a shootout, Barkov pulled off one of his ridiculous moves.

By faking a between-the-legs move, Barkov froze Daccord and was able to deposit the puck in an open far side of the net.

It’s something we’ve seen from Barkov once, but not in a shootout. He pulled the same move on Antti Raanta and the Carolina Hurricanes during Game 2 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Final.

That game, like this one, required Barkov tying the game at one before Florida finished the job after regulation.

Barkov has been playing lights out this season, currently riding a seven-game point streak in which he’s logged five goals and 10 points.

But the move he made on Tuesday is just a reminder of what the humble captain can do.

“I’ve done it before,” Barkov said with a smile. “I know on some goalies who challenge you, it should work. Obviously their goalie is really good and I had to come up with something there, and luckily beat him.”

GOOD START TO TOUGH TRIP

A challenging road schedule is nothing new to Maurice and the Panthers.

It’s something they have been dealing with for several seasons now, and is part of the price you pay when the team is so far away geographically from the majority.

In this case, there are no wonky scheduling issues or strange travel issues – aside form Florida’s two most recent homestands being exactly one game in length – just an extended trip that takes place a long way away from home.

Kicking things off with an exciting win in an unorthodox game is a great way to pump some life and positivity into the team at a time that any club could use it.

“We're going to be out for 12 days, so you don't want the first three days to be grumpy,” Maurice said. “It's good to get a win. Everybody feels good. We'll use their time off in between these games on this trip to recover and get them ready for the next. We're going to hit four playoff teams on the rest of this trip. Good start for us.”

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