After a bounce-back win over the Maple Leafs, the Panthers looked to build on that in their first game of a back-to-back with the Hurricanes. The Cats took advantage of the goaltending disparity as both of Carolina’s starting goaltenders are out injured currently. All four lines contributed offensively with both the second line and third line having two goals apiece. Strong penalty killing kept the Panthers’ lead going into the second period, and the PK added another short-handed goal to the tally; Florida’s leading the NHL in short-handed goals. Stout defense shut down Carolina in the third period as the Cats took the 6-3 win rolling into tomorrow’s rematch in Sunrise.
Offense Rolling:
After finding their game again, the Panthers’ offense was rolling against the Hurricanes. Jesper Boqvist opened up the scoring on a backhanded shot from the top of the faceoff circle. He got the feed from Anton Lundell, who did great work along the boards to win the board battle. While Florida gave up a power play goal just under six minutes into the period to Seth Jarvis, that would be the only special teams goal they’d give up for the rest of the night. The Barkov/Reinhart duo continues to terrorize opponents as a pass from Barkov to Reinhart near the boards gives Reinhart enough time to slide into the high slot. With no defender in sight, Reinhart takes the shot and gets the puck in the back of the net on Spencer Martin’s glove side. The Cats weren’t done scoring in the first period either as Carter Verhaeghe danced through the Hurricane defenders and scored with a shot from the top of the other faceoff circle that went in top shelf. The Panthers took the 3-1 lead into the second period. Carolina pushed back in the second period to tie the game 3-3, but the Cats weathered the storm and came out strong in the third. AJ Greer scored the go ahead goal just under five minutes into the third period. He picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and took the shot just above the faceoff circle to give the Panthers a 4-3 lead. A short-handed goal gave Florida a 5-3 lead, and Sam Bennett capped the game off with an empty netter with six seconds left on the clock.
Penalty Kill Stands Strong:
The PK had its hands full in this match, especially at the end of the first period. It was mostly a clean period until the final five minutes when four penalties were called in the span of two minutes, three for the Panthers on Kulikov (tripping), Verhaeghe (tripping), and Ekblad (interference) and one for Carolina on Svechnikov (high-sticking). This led to a normal 5v4, a 4v4, a 4v3, a 5v3, and then back to the normal 5v4 with two of the Cats’ best penalty killers in the box. It was a tough stretch to end the period but the PK did its job and killed off all the penalties while still being responsibly aggressive. Bobrovsky made some great saves during that timeframe as well keeping the Florida lead at two goals going into the first intermission. The Cats didn’t take another penalty until the third period when J. Boqvist (high-sticking) was sent to the box. However, being short-handed hasn’t been a detriment to the Panthers as of late as they lead the NHL in short-handed goals. Anton Lundell added to that total after he picked up Luostarinen’s rebounded shot and buried it into the back of the net to give the Cats a 5-3 lead. Luostarinen had a strong game on the PK, and he was aggressive on the puck carriers, causing problems for players trying to make a pass. Special teams have gone through some struggles this season, but when things are clicking, the Panthers are dangerous on both the man advantage and while down a player.
Defense Closes It Out:
Last season the Panthers were the best third-period team in the league in no small part thanks to their defense. Their third-period play has been steaky at times during November but had a strong showing Friday afternoon. Florida only allowed two SOG up until the final couple of minutes of play when the Hurricanes had an empty net and a 6v5 advantage. Necas was kept off the scoresheet completely, and the Cats forced the Carolina depth players to step up because of how effective they were at shutting down the top players. When the Panthers carry a lead or are tied into the final twenty minutes, while they’ll still attack and want the o-zone time, they’re perfectly content to lock things down defensively and hold the lead that way. Strong defense from up and down the lineup stifled the Carolina offense in the final twenty minutes, and Florida walked away with a 6-3 win going into the Saturday rematch in Sunrise.
Headed Into The New Year – Inside The Rink
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