Three takeaways: Top line good, head hits very bad, power play still struggling
Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy hit not one, but two Panthers players directly in the head during Monday's game
What started out as a resoundingly positive night for the Florida Panthers on Monday in Boston turned out to be anything but.
Florida jumped out to a 2-0 advantage before losing their lead and two key players to injury, ultimately falling in overtime to the Bruins 3-2 at TD Garden.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, losing the game wasn’t the worst thing that happened to them.
Sam Bennett, making his regular season debut after suffering a lower-body injury during the preseason, was helped off the ice after going down with what appeared to be a left leg injury.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson also left the game and did not return after he was hit in the head by Boston blueliner Charlie McAvoy.
After the game, Florida Head Coach Paul Maurice had no update on either player, only saying that both would be checked out on Tuesday.
Now about that hit…
MCAVOY’S DIRTY NIGHT
McAvoy was thrown out of the game after receiving a match penalty for his illegal hit to the head of Ekman-Larsson.
It wasn’t the first time that McAvoy made contact with the head of a Panthers player on Monday night though.
Asked about the hit on OEL after the game, Maurice had only one thing to say.
"I thought it was exactly like the hit on Verhaeghe in the first,” Maurice said.
He was speaking about the hit in the tweet below.
We’ll have to wait and see whether McAvoy hears from the NHL Department of Player Safety regarding either hit.
Or both.
TOP LINE QUITE GOOD
Florida’s top forward line of Sasha Barkov centering Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart was on the ice more than any other trio by far on Monday night.
After a rough showing on Saturday against Seattle, Barkov’s line was excellent at 5-on-5 facing the Bruins.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the line generated nine scoring chances while allowing only four and held a 3-0 edge in high-danger chances.
Paul Maurice was asked after the game what the group is doing right.
“Shooting the puck, for one, and I think Evan (Rodrigues) has been good there too,” Maurice said. “They've got a nice bit of chemistry. It's not a particularly heavy line, but it's very smart.”
POWER PLAY STRUGGLES CONTINUE
Florida went 0-for-3 on the power play against the Bruins and is now just 4-for-28 on the season, which is good for 22nd in the league.
To make matters worse, one of those three misses on Monday night was a five-minute major during the third period of a tie game.
Florida’s top power play has plenty of firepower, consisting of Matthew Tkachuk, Barkov, Reinhart, Rodrigues, and Ekman-Larsson.
Eventually, you’d think a group with that much talent will figure things out.
Right?
“I think we were not quick enough,” Barkov said after Monday’s game. “Obviously we had some shots and some chances, but I don't think we moved the puck quick enough, we didn’t shoot enough pucks and obviously that five minute power play we should have put more pucks to the net and should have created more chances.”
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