Panthers Postgame Notes - 12.2.21 vs. BUF

DECEMBER 2, 2021

FLA Live Arena – Sunrise, Fla.

FLORIDA PANTHERS	BUFFALO SABRES
7	4

PANTHERS POSTGAME QUOTES

Forward Anton Lundell

On tonight’s win:

“When we got the first goal we could hear the fans and we knew we had the chance to win.”

On Spencer Knight:

“He was great. I haven’t tried to be a goalie but it’s not an easy place to come in—[to] win it—in that situation where he came in today. A lot of PKs and good chances for [Buffalo], and he was really good today and helped us get the win also.”

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad

Confidence in the locker room:

“Yeah, the belief is fantastic. After that second period, we were in the room. Obviously not in a favorable position down 4-3, but we had that powerplay and you can feel the confidence in and it showed through there in that third period.”

On Teammate Jonathan Huberdeau:

“The way he controls the game is like no other player. He does it at high speeds, at slow speeds. He’s able to control the game completely. So it is fun to be out there with him, He is always looking for that extra play to score and he’s one of the best in the league for sure.”

Defenseman Lucas Carlsson

On scoring his first career goal:

“I’ve been getting more ice time to help me build confidence. It feels great to get the first one.”

On the team’s comeback effort

“We went in the locker room after the first period, and just keep grinding. We have a great team, probably one of the best in the league and I think we showed that in the second and third period.”
Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette

On Luostarinen’s big save in the third period:

“Well, we were really lucky. That was a great play by Luosty, very fortunate. And to go down and score the other way was quite a big momentum swing in itself right there.”

On the team’s comeback win:

“Their will to win, their will to compete, is off the charts. It has been all year and it has been for the last two years.”

On Florida’s roster depth:

“We are as deep as any team in the league up front, so that’s the reason we’re able to survive right now. Guys are stepping in and doing jobs and you know there’s not enough ice time to go around for some of these guys some nights, so we’re very fortunate to have those guys.”

CATS STATS

The Panthers overcame a three-goal deficit to win for the second consecutive game, becoming the ninth team in NHL history to accomplish the feat in consecutive games.
Florida registered its ninth three-goal comeback win since 2011-12, trailing only Pittsburgh (11) and Washington (11) for the most among all teams over the last 10 years.
Jonathan Huberdeau matched his career highs in assists (4) and points (5) in a single game. He has produced eight points (1-7-8) over his last two contest, becoming the first player in club history to record three-plus assists in consecutive team games.
Huberdeau played in his 614^th NHL game, surpassing Radek Dvorak for second-most games played in franchise history.
Sam Reinhart registered a career-high four points (1-3-4) tonight against his former team. Huberdeau and Reinhart are the third pair of Panthers in the past 10 years to each record 4+ points in the same game. The others, per NHL PR: Dec. 20, 2019 (Huberdeau & Noel Acciari), March 8, 2019 (Huberdeau & Aleksander Barkov) and Oct. 17, 2011 (Brian Campbell, Stephen Weiss & Kris Versteeg).
Reinhart has amassed five points (2-3-5) over his past two games, including the game-winning goal with 15 seconds remaining to cap Florida’s prior comeback Nov. 30 vs. WSH.
Aaron Ekblad recorded three points (2-1-3), logging his second multi-goal game of the season, produced six shots on goal, skated 28:51 time on ice.
Anton Lundell produced his first career multi-goal game (2-0-2) and recorded five shots on goal.
Lucas Carlsson scored his first career NHL goal and added an assist (1-1-2) for his first career multi-point game.
MacKenzie Weegar notched two assists (0-2-2), extending his assist streak to four games. He has logged an assist in seven of his past eight games (0-8-8). Weegar and Ekblad each led Florida with six shots on goal.
Weegar led Florida with a career-high 30:01 time on ice.
Carter Verhaeghe posted two assists (0-2-2).
Spencer Knight stopped all 19 shots he faced in relief.
The Panthers own a league-best 13-1-0 record on home ice, and are 26-3-0 in their past 29 home contests.
Florida out-shot Buffalo 45-31.