Florida Panthers start strong then hold off Nashville Predators for another road win

Now that’s a start.

But about that finish …

The Florida Panthers, who had fallen behind and gone scoreless in the first period in each of their past five games, ended both of those skids on Thursday night, holding on for a 5-4 win over the host Nashville Predators.

Florida is 7-1-1 on the road, the best record in franchise history after nine games. The Panthers also broke a two-game losing streak overall (0-0-2).

In Thursday’s game, the Panthers led 2-0 after the first period, and they were up 3-0 before Nashville scored midway through the second.

The Predators never led, but they did score four goals on Sergei Bobrovsky (31 saves) in the second half of the game.

“It’s important,” Panthers winger Jonathan Huberdeau said of Florida’s start. “We hadn’t scored in the first or second period in a long time.”

Defenseman Aaron Ekblad was the Panthers’ biggest star of the night with a career-high four points (two goals, two assists), but the game was especially memorable for Florida’s 25-year-old rookie Mason Marchment, who scored his first NHL goal.

“It was special,” Marchment said. “It was an awesome experience. I never thought it would happen.”

Marchment’s goal from beyond the right circle was set up by a 120-foot stretch pass off the boards from Ekblad. Marchment now has a four-game point streak, and Ekblad’s four-point effort is the first by a Panthers defenseman.

The other Panthers goals were scored by Carter Verhaeghe, his first in 10 games; and Huberdeau, who also had an assist.

Aleksander Barkov also had a big game for the Panthers with a season-high three assists.

It was a strong special-teams game for the Panthers, whose penalty-kill unit thwarted a Nashville 5-on-3 advantage for 1:45. The Panthers went 2 for 2 on their PK and 2 for 4 on their power play, which had slumped in Florida’s five previous games (1 for 14).

The Panthers coaching staff also deserves credit as a video review wiped out a Nashville goal by ex-Florida winger Rocco Grimaldi. Panthers coach Joel Quenneville challenged for offsides, and he was right. Had the Panthers been wrong, Florida’s lead would’ve been cut to 4-3 with 18:02 left in the third, and the Predators would’ve been given a two-minute power play.

Florida got more good fortune with 5:30 left in the third as a would-be goal by Filip Forsberg was wiped out when his teammate, Roman Josi, was called for slashing a fraction of a second before the puck crossed the line. Had that goal counted, Nashville would’ve cut its deficit to 5-4.

The Predators did get that next goal eventually, with 73 seconds left. The Predators then pulled their goalie but failed to get the equalizer.

Bobrovsky, who improved to 7-2-2, said he played a “solid” game.

“I had zero chance on their goals,” he said.

Ekblad was just glad things worked out for the Panthers.

“Teams are going to make a big push at the end — you’ve seen us doing it a few times,” Ekblad said. “We were holding on for dear life at the end.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Panthers defenseman Anton Stralman suffered a lower-body and only played 11:52, including no shifts in the third period. Quenneville said the injury was not serious.

▪ Panthers forward Anthony Duclair and defenseman Markus Nutivaara both made the trip, a sign they could make it off injured reserve soon.

▪ Panthers winger Frank Vatrano’s three-game goal streak was snapped.

▪ This was the start of a Panthers stretch of five road games in eight nights.

▪ Florida’s healthy scratches were defensemen Riley Stillman and Kevin Connauton.