Bennett shut down, third-period meltdown and more: 3 reasons why Florida Panthers lost 4-3 to Philadelphia Flyers

The Florida Panthers dropped a surprising 4-3 decision against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night at Wells Fargo Center. The Panthers blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads to let two crucial points in the standings slip away.

Sam Reinhart scored twice, once shorthanded and the other on the power play, with Uvis Balinskis getting the other tally for the Florida Panthers. Meanwhile, Noah Cates scored twice for the Flyers, with Garnet Hathaway and Morgan Frost (PPG) notching Philadelphia's other tallies.

Here's a closer look at three reasons why Florida lost against Philadelphia on Monday night.

3 reasons why Florida Panthers lost 4-3 to Philadelphia Flyers

#3. Penalty kill letdown

The Florida Panthers went 3-for-5 on the penalty kill against the Flyers, the two power play goals the Flyers scored were huge as they were both game-tying goals.

Both power play goals were game-tying goals. In particular, Frost’s equalizer in the third was a dagger to the heart as it came less than two minutes after Reinhart scored to give the Cats a 3-2 lead.

Ultimately, the Panthers gave up two tallies with the man advantage about four minutes apart, coughing up the lead twice.

While the Panthers went 1-for-2 on the power play and scored a shorthanded goal, it wasn’t enough to pry the victory away from the Flyers.

#2. Third-period meltdown

The Florida Panthers entered the third period with a 2-1 lead. For a team like Florida, that’s enough to lock the game down and skate away with the two points.

However, that was not the case on Monday night against the Flyers. The Panthers gave up three third-period goals, including blowing 2-1 and 3-2 leads, allowing the Flyers to only get back into the game, but take the victory.

It’s worth pointing out that the Panthers took two penalties in roughly four minutes, giving the Flyers a chance to get back into the game. In particular, the Aleksander Barkov penalty 43 seconds into the third was tough as the Cats’ best penalty killer was in the box.

That situation allowed the Flyers to capitalize on the opportunity, tying the game at two. Then, the momentum completely shifted toward the Flyers are Dmitry Kulikov’s penalty led to the Flyers tying the game once again.

#1. Sam Bennett, other top scorers shut down

Sam Bennett had a quiet night for the Florida Panthers, failing to register a point in nearly 17 minutes of ice time. Bennett had just one shot on goal, despite going a plus-1 on the night.

Similarly, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk registered an assist apiece. Despite Sam Reinhart’s two goals, other top scorers like Carter Verhaeghe fell silent. In close games such as this one, the Panthers must get scoring from their top guns to win games.

The Panthers will get a chance to turn things around when they visit the New Jersey Devils next at Prudential Center on Tuesday.