Florida’s been incredible in the second half of back-to-backs, and Sunday was no different against the Islanders. Florida started off the game with a celebratory ceremony for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov’s 1,000th gam,e which he skated in last week against LA. The Panthers’ top-line chemistry is red hot at the moment; coming into this game, they had 3 goals and 9 points in their last two games and only added to that total. New York came back in the second period hard and even held the lead at one point. However, the Panthers stuck with their game and ended strong in the final period to take the 6-3 win and extend the lead in the Atlantic Division to three points.
4 Goals 10 Points:
The Panthers’ top line is steamrolling opponents right now. Verhaeghe-Barkov-Reinhart is one of the most dangerous trios in the NHL and with Verhaeghe heating up scoring-wise, they’re having their way with whoever is matched up with them on the ice. Carter has been horrifically snake-bitten this season, but now he seems to have found his groove again. He opened up the scoring just 39 seconds into the period with a shot that he lifted over Skarek from a great feed from Reinhart. Barkov forced the turnover in the neutral zone and got the puck to Reinhart, who was able to pass it to Verhaeghe, who was all alone at the front of the net. Carter struck again with just over seven minutes left as he picked up Forsling’s shot that rebounded right to him and ripped it in short side for the 2-0 lead going into the second period. Reinhart got on the board with less than a minute to go in the second period to give the Panthers a 4-3 lead off a give-and-go play with Forsling. Midway through the third period, Verhaeghe completed the hat trick with a power-play goal. Tkachuk sent a crisp pass cross-ice for Verhaeghe, who one-timed it into the net for the 5-3 lead. When the night was all said and done, the top line combined for 4 goals and 10 points. Barkov had three assists, Reinhart had a goal and an assist, and Verhaeghe had the hat trick and an assist. The top line cleanly swept the three Stars of the Game honors for the second straight game. When asked about the scoring upswing after the game, Verhaeghe said, “I’ve been shooting a lot lately. To get a couple, it feels pretty good.”
Weathered The Pushback:
The Islanders weren’t going to just sit back and die after getting dominated in the first period. New York came into Sunday’s match on a seven-game win streak as they’re fighting for a playoff spot. They pushed hard in the second period and crashed the net well, scoring three straight goals to take a 2-3 lead with just over five minutes to go. Not a great start to the period after the Cats had a 2-0 lead but the third line got the equalizer. The play started with exceptional work by Eetu Luostarinen along the boards and not giving up on the play. He got the puck to Lundell, whose shot got saved, but Rodrigues got himself to the net to pick up the rebound and scored, making it a 3-3 game. Reinhart made it 4-3, and the Panthers left a turbulent second period with the lead intact but cut to one goal. It was probably the worst period the Panthers played during the homestead, but they found a way to halt the momentum and swing things back in their favor before the period ended.
Ended Strong:
Florida’s plenty comfortable in one-goal games and settled into the grind in the final period. A powerplay just past the midway point allowed Verhaeghe to score and extend the lead to two goals to give the Cats some breathing room. Spencer Knight came up with timely saves and big saves when the Islanders were able to break through the defense. Both goalies were giving up rebounds, but Knight made more stops on said rebounds, or the Panthers cleared the loose pucks. Tkachuk put the game away with an empty net goal after a couple of failed attempts by Barkov and Lundell for the 6-3 win. The Cats were heavy on physicality, having a 28-12 advantage in hits by the end of the match. The forechecking pressure caused issues all night, including a couple of turnovers that Florida converted into goals. The Cats went 3-0 on the homestand and travel to Washington for a Tuesday matchup.
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