Florida’s battle against Calgary might’ve been one of the strangest games of the season, especially in the second period. The match was defined by great performances from Bobrovsky and Vladar, who kept the Flames in the match for most of the game. The second period was littered with official reviews on goals. The Panthers’ second line dominated the scoresheet, even with no Matthew Tkachuk. All in all, it was a great performance from the Cats on Kids’ Day, where the team got to have their kids on the ice with them before puck drop. It was two big points that the Panthers picked up to put themselves back in first place in the division ahead of their match with Tampa Bay on Monday.
Goalie Battle:
It was a good old-fashioned goalie battle between Bobrovsky and Vladar. Vladar was outstanding for the Flames and robbed more than one Cat of a goal Saturday afternoon. He was the biggest reason why the game was tied 0-0 after the first period. Vladar also had a much busier night than Bob did as the Panthers dropped 42 SOG on him, including 19 in just the second period. However, Bobrovsky was stellar and earned another shutout, which moved him to 3rd All-Time on the Panthers’ shutout list with 14 total shutouts with the Cats. The Florida defense was stingy the entire game and only allowed 42 shot attempts with 23 SOG. Bob was busier in the third period when Calgary got more pressure, but he was tracking the puck well while being sharp when the Panthers needed him to be, and he earned 1st star honors. In his post-game interview, Rodrigues credited the team’s consistency on defense and using that to fuel their offense.
Video Reviews Galore:
The second period was littered with video reviews on goals in what was just an odd twenty minutes. There were three video reviews and two disallowed goals in the period for the Panthers. While the 3-0 win was great, it easily could’ve been 5-0 for the Cats. The first reviewed goal was the first goal scored for either team. Jonah Gadjovich batted it in after the puck bounced off the ice. Gadjovich’s stick made contact with Vladar’s glove on the first attempt, which led to the challenge by Calgary. Upon review, it was deemed a good goal, and the explanation given by the NHL was that the contact was ok because Vladar was in the process of playing the puck. Gadjovich’s goal ended up as the game-winner, and he earned 3rd star honors as well. The second goal that was reviewed was on a loose puck in the crease and a mad crash at the net. Video review showed the puck near Vladar’s arm and his arm crossing the goal line, but the puck was obscured, so it was deemed inconclusive by the officials. The final goal that was reviewed was Reinhart’s. His shot was on an open net, but Vladar was able to get his glove up and make a save. However, Vladar’s glove was clearly in the net, and it should’ve been a good goal. But ahead of the shot, Verhaeghe was shoved into the net by Calgary and held in despite his efforts to leave the crease. Because Verhaeghe was in was in the blue paint, the officials determined it as goalie interference and disallowed the Reinhart goal. On this call especially, Florida fans were unhappy with the decision and “Refs you suck” chants broke out in the arena.
Second Line Dominance:
In the dying seconds of the second period, a great shift from the second line was rewarded with an Evan Rodrigues goal to make it 2-0 going into the third period. Ekblad passed the puck to Rodrigues, who was down near the goal line, and he threw the puck on net where it bounced off of Vladar’s stick and in. In a period that was littered with disallowed goals, it was a great boost for the Cats to have one count and take a two-goal lead into the final twenty minutes of play; Bennett had the secondary assist on the play to contribute to his two-point night. With just under four minutes to go, a play developed in the Panthers’ zone with Rodrigues breaking the puck out with speed. He passed the puck to Bennett, who then made a simply lovely no-look pass to Samoskevich, who drove to the net and netted his 10th goal of the season. The secondary assist gave Rodrigues a two-point night as well, and he earned second-star honors. The Florida second line was a dominant force on the ice, with both Bennett and Rodrigues having 5 SOG while Samoskevich and Bennett each had 3 hits, which tied for second most on the team. There was no shortage of power-play time, so Bennett logged nearly two more minutes of ice time than Rodrigues & Samoskevich, but stout defense in the final period allowed the Panthers to roll all four lines to even things out. Rodrigues spoke in his post-game interview about the line’s success and said that they were able to keep things simple and not try to make plays when they weren’t there. He also said that everyone kept their feet moving and that they were all over pucks.
ITR 35: Round One – Inside The Rink
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