5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 7, Lightning 1

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Led by a five-point performance from Matthew Tkachuk, the Florida Panthers charged out of the break with a 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at FLA Live Arena on Monday.
Improving to 25-22-6, Florida currently sits just one point out of a playoff spot.
"We're really looking at a really good home stretch to finish off the year," said Tkachuk, who won MVP honors at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game on the same ice on Saturday. "It starts with tonight, and I thought we did a great job."
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. FIVE FOR CHUCKY

At one point in the game, Tkachuk was seen literally licking his chops.
Making mincemeat out of the Lightning's defense from the moment the puck dropped, the All-Star MVP notched two goals and three assists for the third five-point game of his young career.

Finishing just one point shy of matching the franchise record for most points in a single game, Tkachuk's five points are the second-most ever by a player in their first game back after being named MVP of the All-Star Game, trailing only Mario Lemieux's six-point showing in 1987-88.
"I've really, really enjoyed his game all season long," Panthers forward Eric Staal said of Tkachuk. "He's been elite all year. I love all aspects of his attitude, how he approaches the game. This was a big game. He knew it, and he came to play. He was obviously a huge player for us. He makes a ton of elite plays with the puck. His hands are some of the best I've seen around the net. It's just fun to watch him play. But there's other aspects. He's got some grittiness to him. He's involved. He's a great teammate and one of those guys you love to have."
On a seven-game point streak in which he's produced five multi-point performances, Tkachuk leads the Panthers and ranks fifth in the NHL in scoring with 71 points (27 goals, 44 assists). In the history of the franchise, he's one of just two players to hit 70 points in 50 or fewer games.
Doing much of that damage around the net, Tkachuk's biggest highlight against the Lightning came when he batted a floating puck out of mid-air past former Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevsky from right on the doorstep to put the Panthers up 3-1 at 8:40 of the second period.

"It's hard to score on him, so any time you're around the net and can get a little piece of it, you have to," Tkachuk said.

2. TWO FOR SWAGU

Carter Verhaeghe has been giving goaltenders nightmares for a while now.
Finding the back of the net for the eighth time in his last nine games, the dangerous sniper opened the scoring for the Panthers when he teed up a saucer pass from Tkachuk and one-timed the puck past Vasilevskiy from the right circle to make it 1-0 at 8:04 of the first period.
Not done there, Verhaeghe then upped his team-leading goal total to 28 when he blasted another setup pass from Tkachuk into the cage to make it 6-1 at 5:26 of the third period.

"He has the confidence of a shooter," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "We shot the puck well tonight. … I thought our mentality of pucks to the net at the right time was the best part of that game for us. He's a big part of that. It's on his stick, and he knows [to shoot it]."
Often starting the party, Verhaeghe has scored a team-high 12 goals in the first period.
Finding chemistry with No. 19, the Panthers have led 584-381 in shot attempts and 30-14 in goals at 5-on-5 when Verhaeghe and Tkachuk have been on the ice together this campaign.
"He's got so much speed, so it's all about hitting him in the right spots in the offensive zone," Tkachuk said. "He's got such a great shot. It's actually really easy to play with him."

3. BENNETT IN THE MIDDLE

In between Tkachuk and Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett shined just as bright.
Centering the second line, the grizzled forward racked up three points against the Lightning, including depositing a perfect pass from Tkachuk to make it 2-0 at 1:42 of the second period.

In addition to his goal, Bennett went 8-for-14 (57.1%) in the faceoff circle.
Dominating possession against Tampa Bay, Florida led 18-8 in shot attempts, 14-4 in shots on goal and 3-0 in goals when the line of Bennett, Tkachuk and Verhaeghe was deployed at 5-on-5.
Leading all Panthers forwards with 125 hits this season, Bennett posted three against the Bolts.

4. BOB IS BACK

Sergei Bobrovsky didn't skip a beat.
Back in action for the first time since a lower-body injury knocked him out of the lineup on Jan. 19, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped 32 of 33 shots to shut down the Lightning's usually-potent attack.
"It's definitely a great feeling," Bobrovsky said. "It's a great two points for us. It's huge. I thought the guys did a great job from start to finish. We beat a really good team. It's big for us."
Under fire early, Bobrovsky stopped all 11 shots he faced in the first period.
"When it's 7-1 you think the goalie wasn't a factor, but he was a factor," Maurice said. "There was a tip early in that first that he got his pad out on. Real big on the penalty kill, the breakaway on just kind of a broken play. The right saves at the right time are so critical."
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Bobrovsky went a perfect 14-for-14 against high-danger shots.
"Bob made some huge saves there when it was 2-1, 3-1 that allowed us to get that fourth," Tkachuk said.
Over his last 15 appearances, Bobrovsky owns a .916 save percentage.

5. STILL STREAKING

Another game, another point for Brandon Montour.
By notching the primary assist on Eetu Luostarinen's re-direction goal that put the Panthers up 4-1 at 17:56 of the second period, Montour successfully extended his career-long point streak to 10 games, which also stands as the longest such streak by a defenseman in franchise history.

Only the 10th active defenseman to record a double-digit point streak, Montour's streak is the third-longest by a blueliner in the NHL this season, trailing only Winnipeg's Josh Morrissey (11 GP) and San Jose's Erik Karlsson (14 GP).
"It is what it is," Montour said of his record-setting run. "Like I've said before, I'm playing my way, playing offensively, jumping up in the rush, creating plays. We've got guys that are good in front of the net and can put the puck in the net. Kudos to them. I just keep playing the same way."
Eighth in the NHL among defensemen in scoring with a career-high 44 points (10 goals, 34 assists), Montour has logged three goals and seven assists during his point torrid streak.