Three Takeaways: Panthers Come Up With Impressive Win vs Capitals

Welcome to Full Press Hockey’s Takeaway series on the Florida Panthers.

After each Panthers game of the 2022-23 season, our Florida Panthers beat writer, Alex Slemp, will recap the game and give you his three biggest takeaways from the matchup. Today we will have a look at the Florida Panthers’ win vs the Washington Capitals. You can follow more of his work on the Florida Panthers here, and also tune into his podcast where he talks the latest on all things Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers come away victorious vs the Washington Capitals.

Panthers Score Big Victory vs Capitals

The Florida Panthers (9-6-1) are back in the win column after trouncing the Washington Capitals (7-9-2) 5-2 last night. 

The Cats leaned on a monster performance from Sergei Bobrovsky, who was making his first start in four games. The two-time Vezina trophy winner looked in fine Vezina form, making 41 saves including 21 in the third period alone.

The Panthers saw three players have multipoint nights, all highlighted by the captain, Aleksander Barkov, who opened the scoring and finished with a goal and two assists. 

Matthew Tkachuk had his third three-point night in six games, chipping in with three helpers in this one.

The Panthers’ special teams were perfect last night. The penalty kill went five for five and the Cats capitalized on their lone power play of the evening.

It was a solid effort all around and the two points gained helped the Panthers remain in a tie for third in the Atlantic division.

This team is really beginning to take shape and come together as a whole as the season progresses. Let’s take a look at the three biggest takeaways from the teams’ performance last night.

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Bobrovsky Makes Statement in Return

Bob is back! 

After sitting the last three games, the Panthers starting netminder took back his crease. The swagger that seemed lost in his last few outings was evident in the smiles he was making after every save.

“I felt good,” said Bobrovsky. “I saw the puck well. Guys helped me a lot to clear the front of the net. [The Capitals] have good offensive weapons and they’ve been a good team. We respect them, and it’s a big two points.”

The Russian netminder has had mixed results to start the season. His 3.14 GAA and .905 SV% are his highest totals since first coming over to the Sunshine State in 2019. 

Despite those abysmal numbers, he has still looked strong and just needed to put a full 60 minutes together.

It seems that every game he makes multiple highlight reel saves but then has a couple of easy ones slip by him too. Last night we saw him tidy up the other parts of his game and not allow those easy ones. Both times Bob was beaten, they were deflections.

His sharpness last night helped bail out the team in a big way. The Panthers’ undisciplined game gave the highly-lethal Alex Ovechkin, five opportunities on the man advantage.

Head coach Paul Maurice was quick to credit his goaltender and the penalty kill for the win saying, “I think the penalty kill deserves all the credit for tonight’s win,” Maurice said. “And the goalie is the key piece, right? Your best penalty killer. They were great.”

Special Teams Special Again

Speaking of that penalty kill, the Florida Panthers are looking like a team that has figured out their special teams. 

The power play and penalty kill were major areas of concern at the start of the year. The once potent power play was anything but and the penalty kill lacked any sort of killer mentality.

At one point the Panthers were third last in the league for the power play with a paltry 7% success rate.

But the Cats have turned things around for their special teams in a big way.

The Panthers have scored at least one power play goal in five of their last six games. In total, they have converted six of 18 for 33%. A massive jump from seven.

The penalty kill has followed suit, being almost unbeatable in their last six games, only surrendering three goals in 23 chances. 

Barkov Leading the Way in Maurice’s System 

It’s been no secret that the way this Panthers team is playing is very different than last season. 

And bringing about change isn’t always welcomed by the fans, or even players, right away, mainly because it takes time for the fruits of one’s labor to be noticed. 

But despite Barkov’s slow start, points-wise at least, this season, the Captain has remained diligent in putting Maurice’s new system into play.

It’s been important for the players to stick with the system, even when they haven’t been able to string more than two wins together all year. And seeing the captain set the example goes a long way in the dressing room and on the ice. 

This was arguably one of the Panthers’ best performances this season. And the best from Barkov.

The Finnish superstar opened the scoring after slinging a wrister from the high slot, past Darcy Kuemper. He followed up with two assists and chipped in four minutes of penalty kill time.

“When his mentality is shoot first, he’s just such a dynamic player,” Maurice said. “I’m happy for him because he’s played a lot of really good hockey and the points haven’t been there for him. He’s a driver for us, so he needs to have that success.”

The team as a whole seems to be benefiting now from sticking by this system. Last night’s game was pretty complete and was the type of outcome this team will hope to expect come playoff time. Which is the whole point of playing this new system.

Maurice, by the way, coached his 1,700th game last night, which is fourth among NHL coaches all-time. So we’d say he knows a thing or two about building successful systems.

Up Next

The Panthers square off against the Dallas Stars (9-5-2) tomorrow night.

The Stars have struggled as of late. They have lost three of their last four and have surrendered five goals in each of those three losses. 

The Panthers and Stars split their season series last year, 1-1. The Stars won the first meeting 6-5 in a shootout before the Cats exacted their revenge a week later, crushing the Stars 7-1.

Puck drop is Thursday, November 17 at 7:00 pm EST.