3 Takeaways from the Florida Panthers & St. Louis Blues Game 02/06/2026

The Panthers started hot and finished hot in their second match against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Bad blood from the previous meeting in December hadn’t been forgotten, and the Cats took control of the first period. Florida got great performances from Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, as St. Louis had no answer for the second line. A tied game going into the final period ended in regulation with just under 12 seconds on the clock as late-game heroics from the top Panther players clinched the match and the series for the season.

Hot To Start:

As of late, Florida has been a dominant first-period team as they’ve quickly taken control of things in the four games prior to this match. St. Louis got a taste of that first hand with the Cats out skating them up and down the ice in the opening twenty minutes. The Panthers held the 16-10 SOG advantage after the first period and a 15-12 faceoff advantage. Although St. Louis scored first off a puck that rebounded right to Bolduc, it was newly returned Mackie Samoskevich who tied the game up for the Panthers. The pressure from Florida was heavy and made it feel like it was only a matter of time until they scored. Hofer had two grade A robberies, including one on a Greer breakaway. Tkachuk had a chance at a wide-open net, and the look to the sky reeked of disappointment from him when he saw that he missed. He got another chance at scoring on a late-period power play, but this time, he tipped it perfectly for the 2-1 lead. Quick passing from Barkov to Ekblad, who took the shot, allowed Tkachuk to go to the front of the net and be in position to tip it past Hofer. The Panthers took a one-goal lead into the second period, but it felt like it should’ve been a two or three-goal lead.

Bennett & Tkachuk:

The match started spicy with Bennett and Neighbours dropping gloves right off the opening faceoff and each getting five minutes for fighting. The bad blood over the hit from the prior meeting hadn’t been forgotten. That was the only actual fight of the game, although there were a couple of small scrums with no penalties throughout the rest of the game. Bennett and Tkachuk were buzzing around the net all night, and with Mackie Samoskevich back, the line bulldozed its way over St. Louis. The second line scored all three of the goals as Tkachuk also got credited with the game winner in the third period, once again he was right in front of the net and either tipped the puck in or it bounced in off of him. If there’s one thing Matthew likes doing it’s playing against the Blues, he led all skaters in SOG at 7. Against St. Louis, Tkachuk has scored eight goals and 19 assists in 20 games. Thursday night, he added two goals and an assist to that total. In his last five games Tkachuk leads the NHL in goals (6) and points (10). This is the same type of heating-up Panther fans saw from him last season, when he dominated the stat sheet starting in January. Unfortunately, Samoskevich was injured early in the second period and is currently considered day-to-day. Hopefully, he will be back soon, as that line looks like a dangerous trio when everyone’s going.

Late Period Heroics:

Florida’s defense was out in full force in the final period. The Panthers held the Blues to no SOG for around 10 minutes in the last twenty minutes of play. Whether it was defensive sticks, coverage on zone entries, or forcing turnovers, the Cats were all over the Blues at every single instance. Florida pressed offensively as well, but Hofer was making some fantastic saves, and it looked like this game was destined for overtime. The last OT period these two teams played fell in Florida’s favor after Barkov held off three St. Louis players, drew a penalty, and sniped in the game-winner on the man advantage. None of that was necessary this time, as HC Paul Maurice put out a trio of Barkov, Reinhart, and Tkachuk for the forwards in the game’s final minutes. It was the right move to make as Reinhart in the slot had his first shot blocked, he picked up the rebound and shot it into the net with just under 12 seconds to go to win the game. At full speed, it looked like it was a clean Reinhart goal, but Tkachuk touched it at the net and thus gets credited with the goal. With the win, the Panthers hold the lead in the Atlantic over Toronto.