FLORIDA PANTHERS at NASHVILLE PREDATORS
MARCH 6, 2021
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, Tenn.
The Panthers improved to 15-4-4 and a franchise-best 8-1-1 on the road, extending their win streak at Bridgestone Arena to four games (Since Jan. 19, 2019).
Florida’s .850 road points percentage leads the NHL.
Florida is one of two NHL teams (MTL) with only one road regulation loss this season. The Panthers have won seven of their past eight road contests (7-1-0).
Noel Acciari recorded his third career hat trick (3-0-3), his first three points of the season. Acciari recorded back-to-back hat tricks against OTT (Dec. 16, 2019) and DAL (Dec. 20, 2019) last season. His third goal was his first career power-play tally.
Acciari is the fourth Panthers player in franchise history to have recorded at least three hat tricks with the club, joining Pavel Bure (10), Ray Sheppard (5) and Olli Jokinen (4).
Aaron Ekblad tallied his league-leading (for defensemen) ninth goal of the season and added an assist (1-1-2). He has amassed six points (3-3-6) in his past two games.
Patric Hornqvist produced an assist for his 500th NHL point, and extended his assist streak to two games (0-2-2).
Jonathan Huberdeau scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season, extending his goal/point streak to two games (2-1-3).
Huberdeau’s tally was his 158th NHL goal, surpassing Scott Mellanby for third-most goals scored in franchise history.
Frank Vatrano scored a goal and added an assist (1-1-2). He has produced four goals and five points (4-1-5) over his past five games.
Aleksander Barkov notched an assist, extending his point streak to a season-high five games (1-6-7).
Keith Yandle recorded two assists (0-2-2), extending his point streak to two games (0-3-3).
Grigori Denisenko played in his first NHL game, logging one hit, one blocked shot and two shots on goal.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 30 NSH shots (.933 save percentage) and is 3-0-1 in his past four starts.
Radko Gudas notched his third assist of the season and registered his third fighting major.
Five different Panthers recorded multiple points.
NHL.com Final Score: FLA 6, NSH 2
PANTHERS POSTGAME QUOTES – MARCH 6, 2021
Head Coach Joel Quenneville
“Nice to see him [forward Noel Acciari]. Around the net he’s been pressing, he doesn’t get a ton of chances but he’s usually pretty nifty. I’m sure his production will be enhanced off of tonight’s effort.”
“I thought we responded as the game got going…We had a lot of good things happen and a lot of guys had big nights. I thought (Gustav) Forsling on the back end was rock-solid, our defense was really good.”
“We don’t care how many he [forward Noel Acciari] scores, I think he does all the other things that you want from a guy that has that versatility to play in all situations like he does.”
Forward Patric Hornqvist
“It feels good to get the 500th point, but the biggest thing tonight was our resilience out there. We scored a big goal at the end of the first period and took over in the second (period).”
“We just kept going and played the right way and when we do that we have a good team and Bob [goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky] was really good for us. Big effort from all 20 guys.”
“After the first ten minutes, we were the better team. We just kept rolling four lines, everyone felt involved and everyone had a lot of energy. We took pucks to the net, we did a lot of good things out there. When you do that it helps and that’s why the score was 6-2.”
Forward Noel Acciari
“It was a great feeling. I was just hoping to get one (goal) tonight, just to get my first of the season. To get the other two is exciting and a lot of guys are putting pressure on me about tomorrow now.”
“I was just focused on trying to play a simple game, not grip the stick to tight and get that first one. It comes in bunches sometimes, and I happened to get three (goals) tonight. Just hoping I can continue with that game and try to help out the team whether it’s getting on the board or blocking a shot.”
“Having four lines that can contribute is huge for a team. That’s when you make deep runs, when you have four lines that can play both ends of the ice.”
