It doesn’t take much to get Florida Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette excited about Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Lomberg. The wingers on the Panthers’ fourth line play with almost a reckless abandon
“They remind me of my little brother,” Brunette said last week. “They’re just menaces out there. ... They’re the heartbeat right now. They’ve been bringing it every night.”
On Tuesday, they brought more than just intensity during their shifts on the ice.
They found their names on the score sheet.
Hornqvist scored two goals and Lomberg added one of his own to lead the Panthers to a 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
And with that, a perfect homestand is complete.
The Panthers (22-7-4) swept their four-game stretch at FLA Live Arena since returning from a nearly two-week break of games due to a COVID-19 outbreak that stretched into the NHL’s holiday break.
The Panthers outscored opponents 24-10 over this stretch, which also included a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the New York Rangers, a 9-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning and a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
On Tuesday, the Panthers showed a little bit of everything.
They had success on special teams, scoring twice on the power play and killing off both penalties they committed.
Both power-play goals came in the first period. Hornqvist opened scoring about six minutes into regulation when he scooped up a puck in the crease and flicked it past Jacob Markstrom. Hornqvist added another goal in the third period for his first multi-goal game of the season.
Joe Thornton scored Florida’s second goal with the man advantage with 1:59 left in the first period when he tipped in a Brandon Montour shot from the point to give Florida a 3-2 edge at the end of the first period.
They got contributions from all over the lineup. Five players scored goals, with Anthony Duclair scoring in the first period between the power play goals and Lucas Carlsson closing scoring with 6:56 left in the third period. Lomberg’s goal came with 16.7 seconds left in the second period. Seven others recorded at least one assist. Montour had three assists. Carter Verhaeghe had two.
And they got superb goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky, who recorded 47 saves. After giving up two goals in a three-minute stretch midway through the first period — a breakaway by Johnny Gaudreau and a wrist shot from Blake Coleman that bounced off Bobrovsky and into the net — Bobrovsky stopped the final 41 shots that came his way.
Calgary falls to 17-8-6.
This and that
— The Panthers were without two assistant coaches (Derek MacKenzie and Tuomo Ruutu) and two forwards (Mason Marchment and Sam Reinhart) on Tuesday due to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols.
— With his secondary assist on Carlsson’s goal, Anton Lundell is on a four-game point streak. He has two goals and three assists in that stretch.
On the road again
The Panthers play their next two games on the road. They face the Dallas Stars on Thursday before closing the brief road trip against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
The Panthers are 4-4-4 in their 12 games away from FLA Live Arena this season compared to 18-3-0 at home.
