Panthers’ power play stays hot, Jonathan Huberdeau takes NHL’s points lead to top Flyers
The chants of “We want 10!” were long gone and the Florida Panthers were just trying to survive against the Philadelphia Flyers after their four-goal lead in the first period shrunk to one in the third. They needed some breathing room and, with a whistle, they got their relief.
For the first time since the first period, the Panthers went on the power play. It has come and gone for them throughout the season. Lately, it has been a machine and never more so than Thursday. With 13:01 left, Anthony Duclair fired a centering pass from the edge of the right faceoff circle, into traffic, off a Flyer and past Carter Hart for a badly needed insurance goal. Florida could breathe again and hang on for a 6-3 win in Sunrise.
For the fifth time in six games, the Panthers (40-13-5) scored multiple goals on the power play, and their three-goal outing was only their second of the season and first since January. It has been the fuel for this five-game winning streak — now their longest since they began the year with eight straight wins — and has helped vault Florida back into first place in the Eastern Conference after a three-game losing streak last month sent the Panthers tumbling from the top of the standings.
Since the skid ended, Florida has gone 10 of 20 with the extra man, following a 2-of-5 performance in a loss to the Edmonton Oilers last month. It’s a unit driven by the Panthers’ star power — and they have plenty of it — and the stars all came through Thursday.
Forward Sam Reinhart scored twice with the extra man and Duclair scored once. All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau had the primary assist on all three — plus one more on an empty-net goal — and now leads the NHL with 82 points, one more than Oilers center Connor McDavid. Star defenseman Aaron Ekblad had two assists on the power play, too, and star center Aleksander Barkov had one.
On Thursday, this group let Florida survive an uncharacteristic second period. After the Panthers fired 18 shots on goal and took a 4-0 lead in the first, Philadelphia (18-29-10) outshot them 16-7 in the second and outscored them 3-0 to cut their lead to 4-3 at the second intermission.
With 90 seconds left in the first period, most of the 17,193 at FLA Live Arena were chanting, “We want 10!” with the home team ahead 3-0 and they serenaded their team again a little more than a minute later when Cater Verhaeghe put Florida up 4-0 with 29.3 seconds left.
The forward scored twice in the opening period, as did Sam Reinhart. Verhaeghe’s two both came in transition on shots from the slot, including a crafty turnaround goal to put the Panthers ahead 1-0 in the first four minutes. Reinhart’s both came on power plays, with the 26-year-old Canadian doing his damage in front of the net.
With 5:48 left in the first, Huberdeau ripped a shot from the left point and Reinhart tipped it by Hart to push Florida’s lead to 2-0. A little less than four minutes later, the Panthers were on the power play again and Reinhart again cashed in by swatting a puck out of the air after a shot by Huberdeau created a bouncing rebound.
South Florida’s favorite chant began a few seconds later and the Panthers were on the verge of making their last home until March 29 — and its first since Saturday — a three-period celebration.
Instead, the Flyers made it a game until the Panthers finally got a power-play chance again in the third.
Hats wound up on the ice after the insurance goal got past Hart. Reinhart had been in front of the net and Duclair’s centering pass hit someone.
It was a false alarm, though. The crowd would have to wait until 2:06 remained for the real thing, when Huberdeau and Reinhart got a 2-on-0, and Huberdeau gave up the puck. Reinhart got the hat trick and Huberdeau got his fourth assist.
Now the long-delayed celebration could begin. Hats and rubber rats covered the ice, and Florida was ready to take their high-scoring show back on the road.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 9:51 PM.
