It was a busy travel week for the Panthers as they had two home games and a road match sandwiched in between. Cats fans got treated to early playoff-style hockey, especially when Florida clashed with Carolina. Defense was the name of the game this week as all the matches were a low-scoring, one-goal difference affair. Depth scoring played a big role in the games this week. Between the 3rd line putting up points and the defensemen stepping in with offense when needed, the Florida offense is becoming more dimensional as we get closer to the playoffs. While Reinhart’s scoring has slowed down recently, part of it is because teams are putting 3 to 4 guys on him during the powerplay; he’s still a big contributor by putting his teammates in great positions and making great defensive plays. Overall, it was a successful week for the Panthers, even if the loss to Carolina was a heartbreaker.
Ottawa:
It was a highly anticipated rematch between Florida and Ottawa after how the last game went down. If you missed the match back in November, all you need to know is that about half the benches for both teams got thrown out with 10-minute misconducts in the 3rd period with seven and a half minutes left to play and 167 total penalty minutes. Needless to say, most expected fireworks this time around as well. Bobrovsky was in the net for the Cats while the team faced down Korpisalo on the other side. Reinhart’s top line started for the forwards paired with the Forsling-Ekblad duo on defense. Ekblad did his best impression of Tampa Bay by scoring just 19 seconds into the period off a give-and-go pass from Verhaeghe. His shot went up over Korpisalo and bar down into the net; Reinhart got the secondary assist. Ottawa responded by testing Bob, who made a save on Brady Tkachuk and then a blocker save, followed by a save on that rebound. Bobrovsky has great lateral movement, moving smoothly from post to post. Florida got more offensive zone time with Barkov, Verhaeghe, and Montour all taking shots that got saved for deflected away. Ottawa made another offensive press, leading to Bob making a big save that resulted in him losing his stick and then making a blocker save before retrieving it. Gadjovich & Reinhart both had their shots get glove saved. Verhaeghe had a dangerous chance but ran out of room to shoot after passing the puck. So far, Ottawa is struggling against the Verhaeghe-Barkov-Reinhart line. The first penalty of the night came at 12:35 left on the clock, with Ottawa getting called for delay of game. Florida was looking to tie a franchise record of 10 straight games with a power play goal. Reinhart and Bennett both got chances, but Ottawa would kill off the penalty. More offensive pressure came from the Cats, with Forsling and Lundell getting chances; the Panthers were up to 10 SOG with 10:10 to play. Florida would get their second powerplay of the night when Stutzle gets called for cross-checking. Reinhart & Montour both had chances that all ended up going wide, once again Ottawa killed the penalty. The Senators got a breakaway chance with 6:34 on the clock, but Bob was there to keep the Panther lead. The Cats finally had to go on the penalty kill when Ekman-Larsson got called for holding the stick. Luostarinen was pressuring the puck handler, and Bob made great saves on the shots from the Senators; the fans showed their appreciation with loud “Bob-by” chants. Mikkola had a shot go wide as the Ottawa PP ended, and then Bobrovsky made a beautiful save through traffic. Time ran out, and Florida left the first period with a 1-0 lead. Ottawa was very defensive in the first period, leaving it with 17 blocked shots.
Bobrovsky started the 2nd period where he left off in the first, making great saves. With how much speed the Senators have, they don’t give up much on the rush, so much of the opening minutes were back and forth, with neither team getting significant offensive zone time. Bob made another great save with 16:13 on the clock, and Florida finally got some extended o-zone time off a good shift from the Bennett line. Montour got a couple of shots off that got both deflected wide and saved. Mikkola made a big hit on an Ottawa player with 12:04 on the clock before Bob made a save off a 2-on-1 Ottawa chance and 11:45 to go. There were more “Bob-by” chants from fans. While Florida was struggling at the blue lines they were having good success when they got the puck in deep into the Senators’ zone. Barkov, Cousins, and Tkachuk were the next Panthers to get shots off but didn’t find the back of the net. OEL headed to the box for the second time for tripping and 7:10 to go in the middle frame. Forsling cleared the zone, Luostrainen got a short chance, but it went high, and then Bob made a save on a shot that had gotten deflected. The Cats killed the penalty and kept the 1-0 lead. More offensive pressure from the Panthers coming from Ekblad, Tkachuk, and Rodrigues, but it would be Montour who’d give the Cats a 2-0 lead, scoring on a rebounded shot. Reinhart made a defensive play that broke up an Ottawa chance. As the period wound down, Barkov drew a hooking penalty from Jakob Chychrun, and the Panthers left the middle period with a 2-0 lead and a PP to start the 3rd.
Reinhart took a hard hit during the PP, and Verhaeghe’s shot went high. The powerplay has struggled against Ottawa and they killed the penalty. Florida’s defense has been equally good though, only allowed two odd-man rushes and three rush chances. Rodrigues had his shot go wide, and then Stenlund’s line put in a good shift in the offensive zone. The Panthers were dominating the O-zone time in the opening 5 minutes. Kulikov hip-checked a Senator, which drew a big cheer from the home crowd. Bobrovsky made a massive save with 15:02 to play, reaching behind himself to keep the puck out. But there would be no shutout tonight for Bob as the Senators finally got one past him with 14:24 on the clock. Chabot was the one credited with the goal, although Bob was calling for goalie interference; no challenge was made. Not long after, chaos erupted in front of the Cats’ net, but Bob found the puck to draw a whistle. Bobrovsky decided he’d had enough of Brady Tkachuk and went after him, throwing punches before the officials pulled him away with 13:51 to play; Brady had been poking at the puck after the whistle had blown. A bad turnover by the Panthers led to a Senator chance that Bob saved. Luostrainen was a net-front presence with Tkachuk, but neither of them was able to sneak the puck into the Ottawa net. Stutzle used speed to beat the Florida defense and tied the game up at two apiece with 11:14 left on the clock. The Panthers made an offensive push in the back half of the period. Ekblad and Tkachuk were the first ones to take shots that got saved. After a hit took Rodrigues down, there was shoving down by the Florida net. Bob made a save off the rush, and then the offensive pressure really ramped up for the Cats. Verhaeghe, Forsling, and Tkahuck all took shots that got saved or blocked. Forsling took a hit to the face that the officials didn’t call, leading to loud booing and “Refs, you suck” from the fans. Tkachuk, Verhaeghe, and Ekblad took more shots but no goals. To Overtime things went, and Florida started the Barkov line. Verhaeghe had a chance that got saved, and Tkachuk stopped a 2-on-1 chance once he got on the ice. Lundell came in with the heroics, scoring on an extremely sharp angle on the short side that went right under the crossbar. 3-2 win for the Panthers, and they head up to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes.
Carolina:
Familiar foes from last season’s Eastern Conference Final and a Game 1 that no one’s going to forget anytime soon. After all, who could forget a game going into quadruple overtime? Florida won the first meeting this season, so Carolina was out for revenge. Bobrovsky was back in the net for the Cats, over his last 7 games he’s had a .944%, 1.69 GAA, and gone 7-0-0. Due to an injury during the morning skate, Pytor Kochetkov would be starting for the Hurricanes. Bennett’s line started for the forwards, with Mikkola-Montour taking the opening shift for the defense. Reinhart, with Verhaeghe, got an early 2-on-1 chance, but they couldn’t get a shot off with the Hurricane defense hassling them. Tkachuk’s shot ended up loose in front of the net, but Cousins got taken down before he could do anything with it. Gadjovich then had his shot blocked. In the opening minutes, each team had had offensive zone time. Ekblad blocked a Carolina shot, and then Bob made a save on a slapshot, 16:01 on the clock. Just like Ottawa, Carolina has forwards that utilize a lot of speed. A Hurricane 2-on-1 chance went wide, and Florida responded by getting offensive pressure from Verhaehge, Reinhart, and Mikkola, but no goal reward. Things got heated early, with Mikkola and Pesce getting shovey, and Bennett and Orlov went at it, though no punches had been thrown yet. The Panthers held the majority of the offensive zone time in the first half of the period and hadn’t allowed Carolina an easy exit out of their zone. Bob made a save on a shot from the top of the faceoff circle with 11:24 to play and then denied a chance near the post. Kulikov broke up a shot chance, and then Bob made another great save with 8:51 on the clock. The Cats got more o-zone time and shots from Cousins, Tkachuk, and Bennett that all got saved by Kochetkov. A Hurricane shot hit the post, followed by Bob making a save and the defense breaking up another chance for Carolina. Once again, Florida got into the O-zone with shots from Rodrigues twice, Mikkola, Montour twice, Ekblad, and Stenlund that all got saved or kick saved. The first PP of the night went to the Panthers, with Drury going to the box for tripping and 51.6 seconds on the clock. Tkachuk did take a shot that resulted in chaos in front of the net, but Kochetkov found the puck and covered it. Things were scoreless after 20 minutes.
Tkachuk had taken a hit that landed on his sternum in the first period, which he broke during the Stanley Cup Finals last season and didn’t finish the series. You could see him on the TV broadcast telling officials that he was injured, he left the bench and did not return to the game. Gustav Forsling also left the first period with an injury and didn’t return. The Cats started the 2nd period on the PP and got a shot from Montour that got blocker saved, Carolina then got a shorty chance that Bob saved. The Hurricanes killed the penalty and followed that up with offensive pressure, leading to Bob making saves at 17:51 and 16:45. The Panthers responded with their own pressure and got shots from Mikkola and Lundell, who forced a turnover. The turnover went to Luostarainen, who used a drop pass to Lundell to get a 1-on-1, but his shot got glove saved. More net front chaos came with just over six and a half minutes gone, but Bob tracked the puck to make the save. Being down a forward meant the centers were rotating who was taking the double shifts, which led to some unusual pairings like Barkov playing with Gadjovich and Lomberg. Barkov also upped his physical game and was taking more shots. Bob made a save off a Carolina 1-on-1 chance with 9:27 left in the middle period. There was plenty of back and forth before Luostrainen and Barkov got a 2-on-1 chance, but the pass from Barkov was just out of Luostrainen’s reach. Bob made another save off a slapshot chance with 7:30 on the clock and then followed that with a big pad save with 6:11 to go. Verhaeghe and Cousins generated shot chances but no goals, and then Carolina headed back into their o-zone, leading to more great saves from Bob with 4:13 and 3:22 to go. Florida got extended O-zone time in the final 2 minutes as the physical increased from both teams. Barkov, Bennett, Reinhart, Lomberg, and Montour all took shots to the net but still no goals for anyone. Things were still scoreless after 40 minutes, 0-0.
Bob saved a one-timer to start the 3rd period. A great chance from Luostrainen and Rodrigues looked like it went in, but the refs called no goal, and the replay showed that Kochetkov had somehow kept it out. It was genuinely an incredible play by the young Carolina goalie. Cousins got high sticked but nothing was called, he went down to the ice and was looked at by medical staff. Ekblad went after Staal for it and the refs finally reviewed the play, calling Staal for a double minor as Cousins was bleeding. 15:59 on the clock at the start of the PP. Florida held the o-zone with shots from Luostrainen, Lundell, Barkov, Montour, and Bennett. Barkov’s shot got the closest but didn’t get the favorable bounce off the post. Carolina killed the penalty and then got their own PP when Kulikov got sent to the box for holding with 10:05 to play. Luostrainen blocked a shot, Ekblad broke up a shot chance, Reinhart and Stenlund both cleared the zone and then Bob made a couple of great saves as the PP wound down. Mikkola made an offensive push getting a couple of shots off that go saved and blocked. Bob made another fantastic save with 6:44 to go, and then the Panther defense set to work blocking shots. Reinhart set up a shot for Rodrigues, but it got broken up by the Hurricanes defense. Ekblad returned the favor breaking up a Carolina chance. Luostrainen tipped a shot in to score with 3:18 to play, however, the Hurricanes challenged for offsides. Looking at the replay it was a fair challenge, the play was offsides by quite a bit. Tempers got heated late into the period with trash-talking between Ekblad & Pesce and shoving with Lundell & Jarvis. Bob made another save with 1:13 on the clock, and Ekblad followed that up with a couple of shots that got saved and hit the post. Stenlund got the last Florida shots that got blocker saved. It looked like the game was going head into OT but Aho scored with 18.9 seconds on the clock. The final buzzer sounded for a heartbreaking loss for the Panthers and all hell broke out between the teams. It was a full-team brawl with nearly every player on the ice fighting; the only one who didn’t get involved was Bobrovsky. Bennett was having words with Pesce, and the Hurricanes players were throwing their gloves onto the ice from the bench, Bennett then was trash talking to the Carolina bench. The Panthers were slow to leave the ice, finally being escorted off by the officials. Carolina won 0-1, but there’s a rematch on the horizon for next month. Florida headed back home to play the Capitals.
Washington:
Saturday brought rough news for Cats fans, Tkachuk was still out and Stenlund was out with an illness, the silver lining is that Forsling was back. The Rodrigues-Barkov-Reinhart was back together and started the game with Forsling-Ekblad on defense. Anthony Stolarz was in between the pipes, while Charlie Lindgren was the goalie for the Capitals. With Tkachuk out, the remaining lines looked like this: Verhaeghe-Lennett-Cousins, Luostrainen-Lundell-Lomberg, Gadjovich-Lorentz-Lockwood. Barkov got an early shot that got tipped away, Forsling used a poke check to break up a Washington chance, and then Bennett made the streal but had his backhanded chance blocked. It was mostly back-and-forth in the first 4 minutes with some Florida offensive pressure. The Panthers set to work to establish their forecheck early. Forsling blocked a Capitals shot before he got sent to the box for tripping and 15:09 on the clock. Lundell filled in on the PK with no Stenlund. The Cats did a good job on the PK getting zone clears from Mikkola, Barkov, Kulikov, and Luostrainen. Lundell blocked a shot, and then Stolarz made a save as the PP died. Florida was very physical during the PK. An errant puck shot from Montour deflected off an official and nearly went in the net. Ekblad had a shot go wide, while OEL had his shot blocked. Lockwood made a big hit on Jensen that sent him to the ice and ultimately down the tunnel. He went down awkwardly but was able to skate off under his own power. Lockwood got called for hooking on that play just under 10 minutes into the period. Barkov cleared the zone initially before Luostrainen and Lundell got a 2-on-1 chance. However, Lundell couldn’t settle down the pass and ran out of room to shoot. Barkov then sent the puck up to Reinhart, who passed it to Mikkola, but the shot went high. Reinhart clears the zone one final time before the PP ends; the PK allowed 0 SOG. Forsling made a good stick move to break up a Washington chance before the Cats took control in the O-zone. A fight between McMichael and Rodrigues broke out after McMichael took a shot at Rodrigues. Both of them got sent to the box for roughing with 5:18 to play in the period. Bennett got a couple of shots that got saved. In a rare miscue, Reinhart’s pass went too far and left the o-zone. Mikkola used his body to break up the Capitals’ chance breaking his stick in the process. Neither team converts off the 4v4. Wilson made a big hit on Cousins before Florida got a bit of offensive pressure from Barkov and Reinhart. Stolarz made a great save through net-front chaos as the period wound down. No score at the end of twenty minutes, 0-0.
Washington started the second period with a 1v1 chance but the shot hit the post. Florida was slow in the neutral zone to start, which allowed for rush chances for the Capitals. Lomberg had his shot chance from the slot blocked; he and Pacioretty started going at it, but there was no full-out fight. After some back and forth Kulikov took a shot that Cousins tipped in for his 3rd goal on the year and 15:57 to play; That was the Panthers’ first SOG of the period. Lomberg broke into the zone with a lot of speed but had his shot saved. Rodrigues then got a chance, but his was blocked away. Stolarz made a good save with 14:19 on the clock. Reinhart got taken out in the neutral zone, and his pass went to open ice, which Montour picked up. Lockwood and Manthra then started having words and shoving each other. Despite the loss to Carolina, the Cats have allowed 2 goals or less in 12 straight games and are the best forechecking team in the NHL. Stolarz got tested with about of shots from the Capitals that he saved. Tensions finally boiled over, and Lockwood and Wilson got into a fight. Wilson took a shot at Lockwood first, and Mikkola got in on that action to back up his teammate. On his way off the ice, Wilson was chirping at the Florida bench, 10:50 left in the period. Gadjovich and Lockwood both got chances that got saved, the other way Dueve’s shot hit the post. Panthers’ fans were fired up, loudly chanting, “Let’s Go, Panthers.” A second fight broke out, this time between Mantha and Cousins, both got sent to the box for roughing, Mantha got an extra 2 minutes for hooking. Bennett was filling in on the top PP Unit with Tkachuk out; Barkov took a shot that got blocked and then a second one that got saved. Washington kills off the penalty. The offensive pressure continued, however, with Montour and Verhaeghe getting shots that went high and got saved, respectively. Wison wasn’t done with the Panthers, having words with Verhaeghe this time. Ekblad’s shot went high, Montour put the puck to the net, but Verhaeghe couldn’t get a stick on the rebound, and Bennett’s chance got glove saved. With 3:09 to go, Mikkola got called for hooking, sending Florida on the PK. Wilson went careening into the net, and Stolarz managed to get out of the way. Stolarz then made saves on a one-timer and net-front chaos. Milano tied the game up after Washington used quick puck movement to get Stolarz to commit on a shot leaving Milano an open net to shoot at. The game was still tied after 2 periods, 1-1. Through 40 minutes, Florida was leading in hits and faceoff wins, but Washington was leading in blocked shots and only had 2 fewer hits.
Just 12 seconds into the 3rd period, Carlson got called for slashing, sending the Panthers to their 2nd PP of the night. Verhaeghe, Montour, and Barkov all got chances but no goals, and the Capitals killed the penalty. More offensive pressure came from Luostrainen, Rodrigues, Barkov, Verhaeghe, and Kulikov however no chance yielded results. For nearly half the period, the Cats held Washington to just 1 SOG, but then Barkov got called for holding in what was a controversial call for fans. Fans were louding booing the holding call. Lundell had a shorty chance that went high, and then Stolarz made a cover save, which Kulikov followed up by clearing the zone. It was to no avail, though, as Wilson scored with 9:49 on the clock to take the 2-1 lead. The Capitals had just thrown the puck into the Panther zone, and then Wilson used his speed to beat Montour to the puck; while Stolarz got some of it, it wasn’t enough to stop it. Washington continued to pressure Stolarz, but he was up for the challenge, making three fantastic saves at 8:40, 8:33, and 7:41. Montour broke up a 2-on-1 play before Florida got more offensive zone time. Extended O-zone time for the Panthers gave Bennett, Forsling, Ekblad, and Cousins chances to tie things up. Jensen got sent to the box for hooking with just under 5 minutes to play. Bennett’s shot hit the post, and Verhaeghe took a shot that Barkov tipped in with Montour on the secondary assist. Tie game with 3:30 to play, the man advantage has been the difference as 3 out of the 4 goals have been scored on the power play. The last 3 minutes saw a bunch of back and forth. Ekblad made a shot in the dying seconds, but regulation ended with things tied 2-2. Barkov, Reinhart, and Montour started in OT. A stretch pass to Verhaeghe got saved before Washington came back with their own chances that Stolarz made saves on. Verhaeghe’s second chance got blocked. Forsling stripped the puck on a 3-on-1 chance by the Capitals, and Bennett stripped the puck again before passing to Forsling who took the shot to score in OT. Florida took advantage of an odd-man rush where Forsling took the one-timer shot on the glove side to win. 3-2 the final score, Tuesday night the Buffalo Sabes come to town, they got shutout in the meeting earlier this month.
