3 Takeaways From the Florida Panthers & Seattle Kraken Game 02/22/2025

Fresh from big performances in the Four Nations Face-Off, the Panthers were back in action against the Seattle Kraken. Like last season, the Cats dropped their first game back after the All-Star break, but HC Paul Maurice doesn’t think it’s indicative of a trend. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett returned to the lineup as Four Nations Champions, with Reinhart having an assist on the MacKinnion goal and Bennett scoring the game-tying goal; they were given a loud ovation by the home crowd when acknowledged during a break in action. The Kraken seems to be one of those teams that’s just a bad matchup for the Cats, as Seattle is 5-3-1 all-time against Florida. The biggest difference maker was Seattle winning key faceoffs, especially toward the end of the game when the Panthers had the man advantage. A key decision by the officials and the review room shifted the momentum in the Kraken’s favor, but overall, there were good things from Florida’s first game back that they can build on. The biggest question now is how long Matthew Tkachuk is going to be out as that’ll dictate what Florida does at the trade deadline, he’s currently still being evaluated.

Faceoff Battle:

The Panthers are typically excellent in the faceoff dot but the Kraken were better. Only one of Seattle’s centers was below 50 FO%, which was Beniers, who was matched up against Barkov. Stephenson went 17-11, Wright was 6-5, and their fourth-line center Stephens was a perfect 4-0. For the Cats, Barkov went 12-8 to continue his great season in the dot, Bennett was 5-6, Lundell went 5-5, and Nosek went 0-5. When the Panthers needed to win the key faceoffs at the end of the game when they had the empty net, it was Seattle that won almost every draw and was able to clear the zone to deny Florida the chance to get set up and put pressure on. Couple that with Joey Daccord having another outstanding performance, and it was a recipe for scoring struggles for the Cats, just like the match they played in Seattle that went all the way to the shootout.

Game Turning Decision:

The ever-elusive answer to the question of what is goalie interference continues to be a mystery. In what turned out to be the game-deciding coach’s challenge from the Kraken, Mackie Samoskevich’s goal got taken off the board for goalie interference. After the goal went in, Joey Daccord was visibly upset about something that had happened. Rodrigues was pushed into the blue paint and apparently made contact with Daccord. At full speed, there wasn’t any visible contact that the eye could detect. Granted Rodrigues didn’t make much or any attempt to leave the crease after he was pushed in. According to the explanation given from the review after the game concluded, “Video review determined Evan Rodrigues’ presence in the crease and his contact on Joey Daccord’s stick impaired his ability to play his position prior to Mackie Samoskevich’s goal.” While that explanation makes sense, what didn’t make sense was the official on the mic saying that the goal was disallowed because Rodrigues entered the crease on his own when he was clearly pushed. There were plenty of boos and ‘refs, you suck’ chants from the home crowd following the call. Momentum swung in Seattle’s favor, and Jared McCann scored the game-winner on a 2-on-1 chance. Bobrovsky went to make the save, but the puck bounced off his stick and into the back of the goal.

Game Building & Trade Deadline:

There were good things to take from this match, Mackie Samoskevich continues to grow into a fantastic player who’s making an impact on the team, the physicality is there, penalties are still down from where they were, and the Panthers still limited opponent chances. The Lundell-Luostarinen connection is as strong as ever, as Lundell made a fantastic cross-ice pass to Luostarinen to tap into for the tying goal. All things considered, and how many players were just playing in the Four Nations, it was a solid outing from the team after a long break. Greer and Boqvist led the team in hits at 4, Luostarinen & Gadjovich led the team in SOG at 3, and Bobrovsky ended his night with a .909 SV%, stopping 20 of 22 shots. I’ve said for most of the season that I think the Panthers will target a defenseman at the trade deadline, and while I still believe that to be the case, with Tkachuk’s status unknown at the moment, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cats target a forward. If Tkachuk goes to LTIR, there’s a possibility of the Panthers targeting a player like Rantanen if he chooses not to sign an extension with the Hurricanes, it’s also been reported that Tarasenko is open to being traded from the Red Wings to go to a contending team. Florida’s already seen Tarasenko in action on their roster so that could be a good fit since he’s already familiar with the Cats’ systems and most of the current players. Although I think Rantanen could be great in South Florida, I hate to think of what the Panthers would have to give up in order to get him, and I’m not certain that it would be worth it if the price is one of their core pieces.