Thursday night gave fans a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals Series, with Florida taking on the Carolina Hurricanes. The Panthers had won their first meeting this season back in November and were looking to tie the NHL record of 12 straight wins on the road. Carolina was out to avenge that loss and it was a battle of two teams who play nearly identical. With injuries affecting their goalie lineup, Pyotr Kochetkov was in the net for the Hurricanes, and it was the first time Florida would play against the young goaltender. Florida was playing a very physical game, and the defense was some of the best they’ve played all year. Bobrovsky was in the net for the Cats, and he had a fantastic game. Team chemistry got tested when both Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling left the game in the 1st period and didn’t return due to injury. While Florida left PNC Arena with a loss, there’s plenty to be happy about from the night’s effort.
Florida’s Physicality and Defense:
If you watched the Eastern Conference Finals last season, you know that when Florida and Carolina play each other, the games are physical and usually low-scoring; no one’s going to forget that Game 1 of the series went into quadruple overtime. Fans were treated to much the same Thursday night, it felt like a playoff game between two teams who didn’t want to lose. Florida’s physicality was on full display, holding the advantage in both blocked shots (19-9) and hits (33-29). There were some big hits from both defensemen and forwards alike. The defense was there as well, breaking up Carolina’s chances and pressuring whoever had the puck. Reinhart’s production might’ve slowed down a bit at the moment, but he’s still contributing in other ways for the team; his defense last night was fantastic, for example. The Cats’ defensemen also did a good job of holding the puck in the offensive zone to allow the forwards more time to pressure Carolina or shooting the puck to test Kochetkov.
Bobrovsky’s Top Tier Goaltending:
Bobrovsky was back in the net for the Panthers. Over his last seven games, Bob has averaged a .944%, 1.69 GAA, and gone 7-0-0; in each game, he’s allowed two goals or fewer. So far this year, he has had 28 wins, a .916SV%, 2.36 GAA, and three shutouts. He’s tied for 7th amongst all goalies in save percentage, and he has the 3rd best GAA; only Hill and Hellebuyck are above him. Bob had some very timely saves, especially during the Carolina powerplays in the 3rd period. Bobrovsky made an incredible save in the 2nd period where he was sprawled out on his stomach and kicked his leg up to make the save, very similar to the scorpion save Joey Daccord made for the Kraken back in January. It wasn’t the busiest night for Bob as he only saw 29 shots; however, more than once, there was chaos in front of the net, but he was able to find the puck through it. The majority of Carolina’s chances came from around the slot and faceoff circles, an area of ice the Panthers typically defend well. While Aho ultimately was finally able to get one past Bobrovsky in the dying seconds of the 3rd period, Bob still had a .966SV% on the night, and Aho’s goal was the only one scored for either team; Luostarinen’s was ultimately taken off the board for being offsides.
Team Chemistry Tested:
A solid first-period effort turned into the entire team stepping up in the 2nd & 3rd periods when Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling both left the game injured. Tkachuk had taken a hard hit to his chest and was slow to go to the bench afterward. On the TV broadcast, you can see him say to the official that he’s hurt, ultimately leaving the game for the night. Tkachuk ended the 2022-2023 season with a broken sternum that happened off a hit during the Stanely Cup Finals, so where the hit from the Carolina player landed might have aggravated it. With Tkachuk and Forsling both out, the lines were in a bit of chaos, with players taking double shifts to make up for the missing pieces. The powerplay certainly missed Tkachuk’s presence and it became pretty evident when players who hadn’t been paired together were suddenly on a line with each other; some of the passes simply overshot the intended target. We saw Lundell up with Barkov & Reinhart, Verhaeghe back with Bennett & Cousins, Luostarinen with Stenlund & Rodrigues; the centers rotated who took the double shift with the 4th line. And if anyone was wondering if the team had stopped getting into fights when teammates got injured after none broke out after Tkachuk and Forsling went out, the answer is a resounding no. An all-out brawl between the teams erupted after the final buzzer sounded, and they even roped in Kochetkov. Gloves were flying from the Carolina bench at Florida players; trash-talking was plentiful, and it was complete chaos. Some Panthers players were reluctant to leave the ice until the officials forced them off. But the fact that the team still looked cohesive for the most part is encouraging as it allows for more movement of players as needed and lets HC Paul Maurice get creative with whom he pairs together. The fact that the game ended in a 0-1 loss despite having two key players out of the lineup is a good sign that the team’s chemistry and work ethic is at a high level right now, possibly even playoffs ready. Tkachuk and Forsling will be reevaluated on Friday and are day-to-day per HC Paul Maurice during his post-game interview. Florida is back home on Saturday for a rematch against the Washington Capitals.
