Takeaways: Florida Panthers 4, Utah Hockey Club 1

The Florida Panthers defeated the Utah Hockey Club 4-1 in Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola’s return to the lineup.

The Florida Panthers got Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola back in the lineup and they looked whole again.

Florida slowly, but surely ground down the Utah Hockey Club en route to a 4-1 victory in their first-ever visit to Salt Lake City in front of a nationally televised audience on Wednesday night.

Jesper Boqvist scored two goals — one that stood as the game-winner and an empty-netter — while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced.

After an uneventful first period, Sam Reinhart opened the scoring on the power play 1:05 into the second period. Matthew Tkachuk found him in the slot with a quick pass through traffic and he wired the puck home.

Boqvist gave Florida a 2-0 lead 1:48 into the third period, sneaking a snap shot through traffic following sustained offensive zone pressure from his line. Logan Cooley spoiled Bobrovsky’s shutout bid with 6:19 to go.

Boqvist and Eetu Luostarinen tacked on empty-net goals to help the Panthers secure the win.

Here are three takeaways from Wednesday night’s game: