Matthew Tkachuk scored twice to power the Florida Panthers to 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Amerant Bank Arena.
The brace gave Tkachuk multiple points in four straight games, his second such streak since joining the Panthers. This is fourth career time in his career that he has run off a streak of four multiple point games.
In a ridiculous display of hand-eye coordination, the red-hot Tkachuk opened the scoring 23 seconds into the game when his third whack of the puck off the body of MacKenzie Blackwood following Sam Bennett’s interception and initial shot towards the net found the twine.
An under seige Blackwood would hold the Panthers at bay until Tkachuk scored again at 10:05 of the second period. After Tomas Nosek deflected Cody Ceci’s clearing attempt, Tkachuk collected the loose puck near the blue line and skated in on Blackwood before throwing a backhand shot over his shoulder.
Alekasander Barkov would extend the lead by one-timing past Blackwood from sharp angle after Sam Reinhart one-touched him the puck after receiving a short cross from Carter Verhaeghe 3:12 later. The goal came with Klim Kostin off for hooking.
Blackwood, who was simply amazing on this night, would finish the game with 49 saves after stopping all 20 of Florida’s shots in the third period.
Sergei Bobrovsky was denied a shutout when Tyler Toffoli deflected Mikael Granlund’s shot/pass in with 1:25 left on the clock with Blackwood pulled for an extra attacker and Eetu Luostarinen serving a tripping minor. The secondary assist went to Jake Walman.
Only the super-human effort of Blackwood kept the score close as the Panthers dominated this one from start to finish. The Cats registered a season-high 52 shots on goal and extended their point streak (5-0-1) to six games. The win, coupled with Toronto’s 5-2 loss in Pittsburgh, put the Panthers back in first place in the Atlantic Division. A good place to be as they prepare for a tough five-game road trip that sees stops in Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and St. Paul.
Teeth & Tales
- Matthew Tkachuk upped his point streak to six games. He has amassed five goals and 15 points during the torrid run. Tkachuk’s brace gave him an even ten goals and thirty points on the season. He was one of three Cats – Aleksnader Barkov and Gustav Forsling were the others – to register six shots on goal.
- After taking the Pennsylvania trip off due to baby watch, Sergei Bobrovsky returned to repel 28 of 29 shots. The win was the 408th of Bobrovsky’s career, snapping a tie with Glenn “Mr. Goalie” Hall for 11th-most in NHL history.
- In other milestone news, head coach Paul Maurice passed Jacques Martin as Florida’s franchise leader with 111 wins. It took Maurice less than two and half seasons to set the new mark.
- This was the fifth time in club history that San Jose went 0-2-0 during a trip to the Sunshine State. They lost 8-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
- With the lone helper on Tkachuk’s first goal, Sam Bennett extended his point streak to seven games. Bennett also won a quick third period bout with Mario Ferraro.
StatCard
