It is the first iteration of the Battle for Florida this year and the first meeting of the two Florida-based teams since the Panthers eliminated the Lightning from the playoffs en route to their Stanley Cup. The Lightning had a different look this year with no Stamkos and instead picked up Guentzel in the offseason. However, a different look didn’t change the outcome as the Panthers walked away with a 4-2 win on the back of Sam Reinhart and strong special teams performances. Spencer Knight had a solid night and, with help from the defense, held the lead in the final period. Mistake-free hockey was the name of the game for the Cats, and they capitalized on Lightning turnovers. The match had a playoff-type feel, and Florida showed the team it was able to play that style.
Special Teams Takeover:
Special teams played a big part in their playoff series, with Tampa having one of the most dangerous powerplays in the postseason. However, Florida’s is no slouch as their PP currently sits at 5th in the NHL. The Panthers opened the scoring with a powerplay goal coming from the one and only Sam Reinhart. Reinhart tipped in a great shot from Ekblad at the blue line and got the puck past Vasilevskiy. The second period is where the PK shined. It’s not ideal to spend a lot of time on special teams especially when on the penalty kill, but being down a man seemingly has no impact on Florida as they lead the NHL in short-handed goals at 10, the next closest teams have 4 a piece. Sunday was no different as the Cats scored two short-handed goals in 42 seconds on the same PK to take a 3-1 lead. A.J. Greer scored the first short-handed goal of his career as a give-and-go with Nosek allowed him to pick up the rebound off Nosek’s shot and flip the puck over Vasilevskiy’s shoulder for the 2-1 lead. Moments later, Luostarinen stripped the puck off Tampa and got a breakaway chance, which he converted for the 3-1 lead going into the second intermission. There was less 5v5 in the middle period, with Florida going on back-to-back PKs and a 4v4 with offsetting roughing penalties. The Panthers’ special teams stepped up to the task and delivered in a big way for the win. HC Paul Maurice said in his post-game, “You don’t expect your kill to be that dynamic, but it’s been like that all year.”
Spencer Knight and Defensive Support:
Knight was called upon early in the first period to come up with some big saves for the Panthers. The SOG were tied 10-10 out of the first period and a 1-1 tie game. Knight was sharp early, and the Florida defense locked things down and allowed only 10 SOG in the following 40 minutes of play. Kucherov, Hagel, and Point had their fair share of chances, and once again, the Panthers kept Kucherov off the scoresheet. The defense was so effective that the Lightning finally split up Kucherov and Point in the third period. While that did lead to a Point goal early in the 3rd, the Cats shut it down the rest of the way, and an empty net goal from Reinhart sealed the 4-2 win. Florida had to call up Rasmus Asplund to fill in for Gadjovich on the fourth line, as he’s currently out with an injury. Asplund slotted in nicely and made some good defensive plays. Reinhart said in his post-game interview, “I’ve seen his game for years, back to the Buffalo games. You know what you’re going to get from him. He’s got a tremendous work ethic.” The fourth line played impactful minutes for the Panthers and did a great job shutting down Tampa. Asplund played less than 10 minutes, but he played good minutes.
Mistake Free Hockey:
Florida is now 9-0 when playing against teams they’ve faced in the playoffs in the last two years. Playing emotional hockey brings out the best in this Florida team; the higher the emotion, the fewer mistakes they make. When the Panthers are locked in like they were against Tampa, they’re an extremely tough team to beat, and they force their opponents into making mistakes themselves. The forecheck was going strong for the full 60 minutes, plenty of big hits were thrown, and the Cats forced turnovers all over the ice. They also made zone entries extremely difficult or flat-out denied them. The Cats held the edge in SOG (26-21), blocked shots (14-12), and hits (26-24). It was one of their best games of the season despite giving up a goal to Point that they’d probably like back. Everyone stepped up to play the way the team wanted to play for the playoffs. They’ll need another strong game when they play again on Monday in Sunrise.
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