NOTEBOOK: Third line heating up; Lomberg returns to Sunrise

FORT LAUDERDALE – Can you say déjà vu?

Getting flashbacks of a one-score, high-intensity Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final back in June, the Florida Panthers once again took down the Edmonton Oilers in another tight game on Thursday.

With the 4-3 win over Edmonton at Amerant Bank Arena, the Panthers improved to 36-21-3.

Leading the Atlantic Division, the defending Cup champions are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.

Heating up since returning from the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, the line of Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell, and Jesper Boqvist certainly made its presence felt all over the ice in Thursday’s tilt.

“Anton and his two wingers figured out that if they stayed fairly close together, they could make plays on the way up. ... Good players with good hands and good things will happen,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the trio following the win over the Oilers. “It made them look fast. They were physical. They stopped pucks and they skated really well.”

The dominance of the line showed in both the eye test and analytics.

According to the numbers at NaturalStatTrick.com, the 27-15-70 line boasted a 71.43% offensive advantage, leading the Oilers 6-0 in shots, 10-4 in shot attempts and 2-0 in goals at 5-on-5.

In three games since the break, Lundell has logged four points (one goal, three assists), Luostarinen has tallied a goal, and Boqvist has dished out an assist to help Florida go 2-1-0.

As a line, the trio has combined for a +12 plus/minus rating in that stretch.

“For Lundy (Lundell), I think he’s so strong on the puck going through the middle,” Boqvist said of his linemate. “For Luosty (Luostarinen), he’s so good around the walls and finding those inside plays. Those are a couple things I don’t think they get enough credit for.”

LOMBERG RETURNS

Start revving your engines.

A member of last year’s Stanley Cup-winning squad, Ryan “Lomberghini” Lomberg will return to Amerant Bank Arena as a visitor when the Panthers host the Flames on Saturday.

Over four seasons with the Panthers, the fast and physical forward notched 49 points (28 goals, 21 assists) in 246 games, while also accumulating 327 penalty minutes in that span.

Earning a raise, Lomberg inked a two-year deal with Calgary this past summer.

Just as it was for other former champions this season, a warm welcome is expected.

“It’s great to share that with Ryan and the fans because he had a connection there and a connection certainly to our team,” Maurice said. “You get to enjoy that. These guys are all playing on different teams now, but you still feel like they’re yours. They’re part of that collective memory that’ll never change. I’m happy he’ll get to share that with the fans.”

Suiting up in eight games during last year’s run to the Cup, Lomberg worked his way back into the lineup during the Final, including appearing in the Game 7 win over Edmonton.

Prior to that Cup-clinching game, he famously said, “We live together after this one.”

Looking back, Lomberg’s attitude and speed were key to the team’s success.

“What we were really looking for in that Game 7 was players that weren’t tentative mentally, not that the players that I took out [were], but I thought that the fourth line just had an awful lot of speed on the wings,” Maurice said. “At that point, Kyle [Okposo] was really moving on the ice, and they were heavy, too. They would finish every check. We wanted to get players in there that would establish our game in the first 10 minutes, and he was a big part of that.”

To be there for Lomberg’s return, click HERE to view tickets.

TKACHUK UPDATE

Per Maurice, the superstar forward will continue to be evaluated before an official update can be made.

"We don't need to hurry right now because he's not playing on the weekend,” Maurice said on Thursday.

This season, Tkachuk has notched 57 points (22 goals, 35 assists) and 54 penalty minutes in 52 games.

On an offensive tear heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off, the 27-year-old had lit the lamp in six straight games and recorded 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in his previous 16 games.

Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com for further updates on Tkachuk’s status.

*Jameson Olive contributed to this article