Colby Guy
SUNRISE — When looking at the final score of the Florida Panthers 6-2 victory over the Calgary Flames, one would think Sasha Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau lit up the scoresheet.
That assumption would have been wrong.
On Tuesday, Florida’s star duo combined for just one assist. Huberdeau got it.
It was the Panthers’ fourth line that stepped up, with the tandem of Ryan Lomberg, Eetu Luostarinen and Patric Hornqvist combining for four points.
For Florida, it was the fourth consecutive home victory in which the Panthers outscored their opponents — the Rangers, Lightning, Canadiens and Flames — 24-10.
Over the course of the past three home wins, the Panthers put up 20 goals for the first time in franchise history.
“I think something we try to do every game is bring the energy and keep things simple,” Lomberg said.
“Tonight was one of those nights that the hard work paid off and we got some good bounces, but we’re obviously confident in our big guys.”
Hornqvist, who was scoreless for the past six games he played, notched two goals to bring his season total up to six.
“It feels good,” he said. “I haven’t scored as many goals as I wanted to so far this year, but it’s 2022, so let’s get better and get more goals.”
The 35-year-old played in a net-front role on the Panthers’ power play last season, notching 14 goals in 44 games, but has since stepped back into a veteran leadership role with fourth line minutes and a similar role on the second power play unit.
With Sam Bennett on a three-game suspension and Sam Reinhart on the Covid list, two of the players who have worked in that kind of role on the power play were out.
So, Hornqvist got his chance on the top unit.
It paid off for Florida.
Just 5:58 into the game, Hornqvist got the Panthers on the board with a power play goal from his usual spot in front of the net to give Florida the early lead.
“To play with [Hornqvist] is great. It’s easy,” Lomberg said. “He is a guy that has contagious energy, he brings everybody on board, he’s always going, he’s predictable. Our line has been playing well and he’s been a huge reason why.”
Lomberg had a big night of his own, notching a key goal late in the second period to give Florida a two-goal lead heading into the intermission.
It came against his former team, the one that gave him a chance before Florida came calling in 2020.
RELATED: Ryan Lomberg’s long road to Florida
“It feels good,” Lomberg said of his goal. “Anytime you win, it’s a good thing. They’re a good hockey club, so it’s an important one for us.”
But for Lomberg, it was just another goal for him.
It didn’t matter who he scored it against.
“It’s just another game,” he said. “Obviously, I played with a few of those guys for a few years, so it’s nice to see them. But a win is a win, it doesn’t matter who we play.”
Interim coach Andrew Brunette has been impressed with that fourth line all season, making it a point to keep them together whenever he gets the chance.
He still remains impressed after Tuesday’s game.
“It’s always fun to see them score,” Brunette said. “They’ve been our heartbeats over the last six weeks and they just compete so hard.”
Once Hornqvist got the goal scoring started, the Flames answered back with two quick goals of their own.
First, Johnny Gaudreau burst out on a breakaway and fired one top shelf to tie the game up at 1.
Just over three minutes later, Blake Coleman beat Sergei Bobrovsky with a wide-angle shot near the front of the net to give the Flames the lead with 9:56 to go.
Gus Forsling fired a wrist shot from the point with 6:59 remaining in the opening frame and Anthony Duclair got a piece of it to tie the game back up for the Panthers.
After a slow start to the second period, Lomberg extended Florida’s lead to 4-2 with 16.7 seconds left in the frame with some nice moves finished by a wrist shot from the right face-off circle that went through Jacob Markstrom’s five-hole.
Hornqvist kept the party going with a shot from the right circle just 5:47 into the third period to put the Panthers up 5-2.
Lucas Carlsson bumped Florida’s lead up to four with a diving shot to make it a 6-2 game with 6:56 to go.
Sergei Bobrovsky finished the game with 47 saves on 49 shots.