Coming off their second win against the Washington Capitals this month, Florida continued its homestead with a second match against Buffalo in the last two weeks. The last time these teams met, it ended in a shutout for Anthony Stolarz; this time around, it was Bobrovsky’s net. Since the 9-2 blowout win over Tampa Bay, the Panthers have found themselves in a series of hard-fought and grinding games with a single goal making the difference between winning and losing. However, the Florida power play is as dangerous as ever, stellar goaltending is frustrating opponents, and Brandon Montour has stepped up his game.
Special Teams Success
It was a penalty-infused game Wednesday night between the Cats and the Sabers. While it wasn’t the most penalties fans have seen Florida take this season, over the last couple of weeks, the team has been skating cleaner and taking fewer penalties overall. That meant extra ice time for the special teams units, and both the PK and the PP were successful. The PP went two for five, and the PK killed off three out of the four power plays for Buffalo. Tkachuk and Mnotour were the ones to score during Florida’s power plays, and the PK got a couple of short-handed chances as well. Winning the special teams battle was important, as well, as three out of the five total goals scored happened during a power play.
Goaltending Excellence
Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz have been a fantastic goaltender duo this season. Together they are currently on a 14 game streak of allowing two goals or less, Bobrovsky alone is on a franchise record setting nine game streak of allowing two goals or less. During those nine games, Bob’s gone 8-1-0, has a .945 SV%, and a 1.65 GAA; he’s only allowed in 15 total goals during the stretch. Against the Sabers, Bob stopped 28 out of 30 shots, had a .933 SV%, and bailed Florida out a few times when Buffalo got some dangerous chances or a 2-on-1 situation. The majority of the shots Bob saw came from the faceoff circle or farther back toward the blue line; the Panther defense only gave up six SOG that came from right in front of the net or at the goal line. The excellent play from Bobrovsky and Stolarz have helped the Panthers to their 21-4-2 record since Dec. 23rd.
Brandon Montour Stepping Up
Often when the Florida offense gets talked about people are talking about the forwards, Verhaeghe, Tkachuk, Reinhart, etc. But the defenders shouldn’t be overlooked for their contribution to the offensive side of things. Brandon Montour has stepped up to the plate to be an offensive threat for the Panthers. In the first 38 games, he had 12 points, but in just the last five games, he’s gotten 10 points. Montour came up big for the Cats with a three point night, one goal, and two assists, and his goal was the game-winning goal. In his last five games, he’s had three goals and seven assists. His presence on the PP & PK units is a big one; he scored his goal on the power play and had an assist on Tkachuk’s goal. And when he was in the box for hooking, it was the only PP that Buffalo scored on. Montour’s offensive presence helps with Florida’s depth scoring as well giving the team more options for goal scorers, he’s 3rd amongst the Cats defensemen in points and goals scored behind Forsling and Ekman-Larsson. His level of play will be vital down the stretch, especially in games like the Ottawa one from last week when the forwards just weren’t scoring so it was up to the defensemen to put the puck to the net. He’ll be one to watch on Thursday when the Panthers take on the Montreal Canadiens to finish out this stretch at home.
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