Three days off in the middle of their road trip had the Panthers looking more like themselves after back-to-back losses to the Canadians and Islanders. The Eastern Conference is an absolute dogfight for playoff spots at the moment, and teams are just one good week or one bad week away from either making it or dropping out. Every game is important for the Cats as they are in a fight for first place in the division against Toronto with Tampa Bay only two points back with a game in hand. Looking for a bounce-back game against the Blue Jackets, the Cats took the win off another Bobrovsky shutout, and an OT power play gave them the edge. Down the stretch is going to be playoff-like games as everyone is in a fight for their postseason lives, grit and hard work will be necessary to be successful.
Goalie Duel:
Regulation goals were impossible to come by as both Bobrovsky and Merzlikins were on their A-game, and their respective teams committed to hard-nosed defense. Bob had shut out the Blue Jackets just two weeks ago in a game where he wasn’t particularly busy, a healthy Florida defense held Columbus to just 16 SOG. This time around required a bigger and better performance from Sergei and he was more than up to the task. The Cats allowed 25 SOG and the Blue Jackets pressured hard, especially in the second and third periods. The majority of the shots came from the left faceoff circle, with a handful of dangerous chances right in front of the net. Bob spoke in his post-game interview about how he was in the flow state and had a lot of action around his net that allowed him to stay locked in. He called it a great and fun game and said that it was great to win a tight game. When asked about not allowing more than two goals all month, Bobrovsky spoke about how he doesn’t think about those kinds of things and that he’s focused on one shot at a time and bringing his best to help the team. He made some outstanding saves on the breakaways that did get through and came up big when the Blue Jackets generated sustained pressure. He was also very quick to alert the officials that the Columbus goal wasn’t a goal; the puck was kicked in by Jenner and it was deemed no goal after review. With this shutout Bobrovsky has set a franchise record at three consecutive shutouts against one team. Merzlikins was no slouch as he also kept the game scoreless through regulation and robbed a couple of Panthers of goals. Once the Cats got some traffic in front of him, they were successful and scored the only goal of the night.
Captain OT Winner:
Barkov and his line were everywhere on the ice in Columbus. Barkov, Reinhart, and Verhaeghe combined for 9 SOG and spent most of their shifts in the offensive zone stressing the Columbus defense. Barkov went 8 for 4 in the faceoff dot, Reinhart won 4 out of 7, and Verhaeghe won the lone faceoff that he took. The Panthers were able to roll their lines for the match and kept all their forwards under twenty minutes. They were the Panthers’ best line on the ice, and Barkov called the game in overtime. A late delay of game penalty gave the Cats a power play that extended into overtime. Traffic and a screen in front of Merzlikins kept him from seeing Barkov’s snipe of a shot from the high slot that went in on the blocker side; Jones and Reinhart got credited with the assists. When Sasha talked to the media after the game he highlighted Bob’s great game and that he gave the team the chance to win in overtime. He credited his line with working hard and supporting each other to make the small plays within the zone as to how they were successful.
Gritty Road To The Playoffs:
As the Eastern Conference playoff picture is far from set, there are plenty of teams that feel like they’re in the fight to get to the postseason. Barkov mentioned to the media about the fight and desperation of other teams and that the Cats needed to make the switch themselves because their playoff spot also isn’t clinched yet. He also spoke about how the team can be better and gave the Blue Jackets too many chances on breakaways and high-end chances. Bobrovsky said in his postgame, “It was playoff-style game. Opponent played hard, opponent played a good game, but we work hard we had great focus, great concentration. We were together, we were tight, and we just grind it out,” when asked about his team’s composure when faced with a scoreless regulation game. HC Paul Maurice was happy with Tobias Bjornfot’s performance as he was called up with Kulikov out week to week. When asked about how big the two points were, Maurice said, “Well, we’re not in the playoffs. That’s the key piece. 85 points coming in tonight’s not getting you into the playoffs. So, we got lots of work to do and we’re going to be challenged between schedule and injuries.” Maurice also highlighted that their remaining schedule is almost all teams like Columbus or teams fighting for their divisional lead and that all the games are meaningful. He said that every game is going to be a grinder and will feel like a real playoff game with the style of play that they’ll see in the postseason. The Cats will need to dig deep and rely on their depth to step up in the absence of big-name players. Hopefully, Marchand will work his way into the lineup by the end of the month.
ITR 30: Down The Stretch – Inside The Rink
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