The last time the Panthers played the Canadiens was back in December during their nine game winning streak, but last night’s win secured the series win. They still have one more match in April, and the Canadiens will be out for revenge after the Cats won Thursday’s game in a shootout. Special Teams saw extra time on the ice, with 22 total PIM between the teams. Reinhart finally broke his scoring drought by scoring two goals, both on special teams. Florida secured the win in a shootout with great performances from Barkov, Lundell, and Stolarz. This was Florida’s 5th straight game, where the difference between winning and losing was a single goal, but the team is still finding a way to get it done and grind out wins.
Special Teams Importance:
There was plenty of ice time for both teams’ special teams units, five power plays for the Cats and four for the Canadiens. Penalty killing was the name of the game for both teams; each side had at least one PK where they didn’t allow a single SOG. Things drew level as both teams converted one power play for a goal on the man advantage. The biggest difference lay in how the teams attacked short-handed. Stolarz came up big for the Cats and stopped the shorty chances that Montreal got while Reinhart converted a shorty chance for a goal. It was his 5th shorty of the season, and he now leads the NHL in both PP goals and is tied for 1st in shortys. Having a strong showing from the special teams units is a necessary piece if the Panthers want to make a deep Playoff run like last season.
Reinhart Snaps His Goal Drought:
Coming back from the All-Star break saw a drop in Reinhart’s goal production. He was still racking up points with assists, but teams have honed in on how the power play likes to feed Reinhart, so teams have been putting as many as all four guys on him in the slot. This has allowed others to be able to score but certainly became a big factor in Reinhart’s production dipping. However, he snapped that streak Thursday night by scoring two goals during both the PP and the PK. He finally cracked that 40-goal mark, becoming just the fourth Panther to do so. With three more goals, Reinhart can overtake Verhaeghe on the Franchise Single Season Goals list and move into 3rd place. He had a 3-point night against the Canadiens with two goals and an assist on Barkov’s goal. While other players have stepped up when Reinhart wasn’t scoring, it’s always good to have the team’s top goal scorer back to producing.
Shootout Success:
Regulation and Overtime weren’t enough to declare a winner, this game went all the way to the shootout. The Panthers haven’t had many games go to a shootout, but they’ve been successful when they did go the distance. Stolarz stopped two out of the three shots from Montreal. Reinhart started things for the Panthers but had his shot saved. Barkov, who’s been great during the shootouts once again scored for the Panthers, and Lundell finished things out by faking out Montembeault, pulling him out of position, and scored. It was a beautiful move on Lundell’s part and showed that HC Paul Maurice has great confidence in his abilities. Lundell’s level of play has steadily gotten better as the season has gone on, and he’s proved how valuable he’s been on special teams as well, being a big part of the PK units. The shootout highlighted the high IQ plays of the Panthers’ shooters as well as their puck-handling skills, something that has been a great strength of the team, especially in the faceoff circle. With the homestead complete, Florida heads back on the road to play Detroit on Saturday afternoon.
