FLORIDA PANTHERS vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
DECEMBER 30, 2021
FLA Live Arena – Sunrise, Fla.
| FLORIDA PANTHERS | TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING |
| 9 | 3 |
PANTHERS POSTGAME QUOTES
Forward Anton Lundell
On tonight’s effort:
“It was great. We just wanted to keep going like how we finished yesterday. Right away from the start we wanted to show the way. It’s always a good game against the Lightning. They are a really good team. It’s a hard battle. We were prepared and we just played as a team.”
Forward Aleksander Barkov
On Playing in front of a home crowd:
“We always like to have the crowd behind us. It has been unreal for us all season. We love to play here. Whenever we win, it is so much fun to play here. We just want to keep winning and we play against this team a lot in the past and this season too. Always the same mindset that we gotta beat these guys and it is always fun when you do.”
On Anthony Duclair:
“He is unreal, he is a great, great hockey player, great guy, he is doing really good things on the ice, he is always dangerous. He is always there to score a goal, to get a breakaway, to make nice plays. We are really happy for him and really happy to have him on our side and watch him play.”
Forward Jonathan Huberdeau
On the fan energy:
“It was cool. The place was buzzing tonight. It was cool to see that. The fans, the wave—everything was going tonight. It was fun to see that and we’re excited for Saturday.”
On moving forward with momentum:
“It’s all about having fun. I think we’re at our best when we do that. I think [Brunette] said it: when we play with confidence, swagger—that’s our team, that’s our identity. We play hard and that’s what we did tonight.”
Interim Head Coach Andrew Brunette
On tonight’s win:
“I thought we used our speed—Duke, [Verhaeghe] and these guys pushed the pace pretty good and took advantage of some opportunities there. I think it was a little bit of a weird game, I didn’t love our first [period], but I thought as the game went on we were a little more solid all around and we were rewarded for it.”
CATS STATS
- The Panthers tallied nine goals in a game for the second time in club history and the first time since Nov. 26, 1997 vs. BOS (10-5 W).
- Jonathan Huberdeau matched his career highs with four assists and five points (1-4-5), marking his third career game with four assists and his fourth game with five points. All four five-point games have come in 2021, the most 5+ point games by any NHL player over that span.
- Huberdeau notched five points for the second time this season (1-4-5, Dec. 2 vs. BUF). Only one other NHLer has recorded five points in a game this season (Anze Kopitar).
- Huberdeau’s 28 points on home ice (6-22-28) are tied for the second-most home points among NHL skaters.
- Anthony Duclair produced three points (2-1-3), his second multi-goal game of the season. He has produced four points (3-1-4) over his past two games.
- Duclair’s first tally was his 100th NHL goal.
- Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, and Frank Vatrano each posted a goal and an assist.
- Barkov’s goal came shorthanded for his eighth career shorthanded goal, tying Bill Lindsay and Olli Jokinen for the fourth most in franchise history.
- Barkov’s goal marked Florida’s third shorthanded tally of the season, tied for the eighth-most among NHL teams.
- MacKenzie Weegar notched two assists for his second multi-assist game of the season.
- Spencer Knight stopped 39 of 42 TBL shots against (.929 save percentage) to earn his seventh win of the season.
- 15 different Panthers recorded a point in the game.
- The Panthers matched their season high with 40 hits, led by Radko Gudas (5).
- Florida is currently tied for the league lead in first period goals (35) and third period goals (43).
LOOKING AHEAD
Next up for the Cats — The Panthers are OFF tomorrow, December 31. The Cats will face off against the Montreal Canadiens at 1 P.M. at FLA Live Arena on Jan. 1, 2022.
