It was a tight game against the Capitals that came undone in the third period. The Panthers put up a hell of an effort against the Capitals but came up short. They pulled within one goal in the final period, but that was as close as they got after the Caps took a two-goal lead. Washington has adopted a very similar style of play to the Cats and there wasn’t much space until the final twenty minutes. Florida’s second line was the best one on the ice for the Cats and generated the most scoring opportunities. The Panthers couldn’t buy a call from the refs Tuesday night, despite that the PK was able to kill off all of the Washington power plays. Small mistakes resulted in pucks in the back of the Panther net, but they’re manageable mistakes. Hopefully, Florida learns from where plays went wrong and can adjust going forward.
First & Second Line Buzzing:
The Cats’ second line created all sorts of problems for Washington. Together, they scored two goals and four points. Bennett tied the game late in the first period. A feed from Boqvist found Bennett, and while the first shot was saved, he picked up the rebound to score a 1-1 tie game after the first period. Throughout the match, they generated chances, with Bennett leading all Panthers with 6 SOG, Tkachuk had 2, and Jesper had 1. They were buzzing around the net all night and had a couple of loose pucks in front of the net that they couldn’t get to go. The top line continued its hot streak, with Barkov netting a goal this time in the second period to tie the game 2-2. Verhaeghe’s stretch pass found Barkov who was under pressure, but he muscled his way past Chychrun and put his backhand shot over Thompson; Reinhart had the secondary assist. For SOG, Reinhart led the line with 4, Barkov had 3, and Verhaeghe would’ve had 2, but his stick broke on what looked like a sure-fire goal in the final minutes of the game that could’ve tied the game up at 4, and instead turned into an empty net goal for Washington. Verhaeghe’s stick breaking in that situation just sums up the kind of luck he’s had this season.
Goalie Interference & Penalties:
The officiating was certainly a choice during this match, and it heavily fell in the Capital’s favor. Twice during the game, Bobrovsky was run into by Dowd, and neither was called for goalie interference. Naturally, the Panthers were quick to jump to Bob’s defense and set off scrums following the contact. However, if the first contact is called, which includes head contact on Bobrovsky, the second one probably doesn’t happen. Dubois got away with fully sitting on Barkov for 30 seconds to almost a minute, and nothing was called. The only call that went in Florida’s favor was a tripping call on Sandin in the second period. Every other call or non-call went Washington’s way, and while the number of calls may not have been the determining factor in how the game played it, it doesn’t make the non-calls any less egregious. Had the Panthers crashed into Thompson the way Dowd did to Bobrovsky I wouldn’t have been surprised to see it called a penalty, there was no attempt on Dowd’s part to avoid the contact. The Florida PK was excellent and killed off all three PPs for the Caps, and special teams scored on the 4v4 with Tkachuk’s goal, making it a 3-4 game in the third.
Manageable Mistakes:
The Cats can take away plenty of positives from the loss to the Capitals. The forechecking was going hard all game and they caused plenty of issues for Washington. The mistakes that were made, unfortunately, were costly ones that resulted in goals but also mistakes that can be managed and avoided in the future. There were too many Panthers going to help on a board battle, which left Mangiapane unchecked with a one-on-one vs. Bob once he got the puck and opened the scoring. A poor pass decision to Ekblad, who was covered by two players, and Ekblad’s pass decision which got intercepted, resulted in a 2 on 1 short-handed goal from Wilson for the 1-2 WSH lead. A puck bounced away and was misplayed by Kulikov in the neutral zone, which resulted in a breakaway chance for Eller, who made it 2-3 WSH. The Dowd goal came during the delayed penalty following the scum after the second contact with Bobrovsky and a 2-4 WSH lead. Better decision making with passes or more opponent positioning awareness can negate two of the goals that got scored on Bob. Of course, you’d always like your goalie to make a save, but there are things the team can do to not put him in so many odd-man rush chances or breakaway situations. The Panthers were able to do something no one had done in weeks, which was put up more than two goals on Logan Thompson. Florida still holds the lead in the Atlantic by a point after the Leafs won against Calgary.
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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