Flyers score late to end Panthers winning streak at six

The Florida Panthers returned home to Amerant Bank Arena for 2000’s night in an opportunity where they welcomed in the Philadelphia Flyers to Sunrise. Their last loss at home came against Philadelphia in the first game out of the All-Star Break on Feb. 6.

In a tight game that was tied for the majority of the contest, Garnet Hathaway scored with less than a minute left in regulation to propel the Flyers past the Panthers by a final of 2-1. Florida’s home and overall winning streaks came to an end on Thursday night.

Vladimir Tarasenko made his Panthers debut on Thursday. He played just over eight minutes, sharing a line with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. He also played on the second power play unit. He registered one shot on goal on the evening. 

Florida controlled most the first period, mostly led by the line of Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk as they had the Flyers pinned in their own zone. Philadelphia had a hard time managing the Panthers forecheck early as they were desperate to clear the puck.

It was a tough task for Philadelphia with trading defenseman Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche ahead of the Mar. 8 trade deadline and with Jamie Drysdale and recently extended Nick Seeler sidelined due to injury.

However, neither team scored during the first period, and neither went to the penalty box during the first 20 minutes.

Philadelphia scored on the opening shift in the second period just 10 seconds in. Ryan Poehling drove up the left-wing wall before he cut back in. With a clear lane to the net he got the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky up high, where the goaltender committed low on the shot. Aaron Ekblad looked to have been crossed up with the referee prior to Poehling’s goal.

Florida did not let an early goal by the opposition phase them. After they kept the puck alive in the Flyers zone on a failed clear, Gustav Forsling’s wrist shot from the blue line got through traffic and past goaltender Samuel Ersson to tie it at one at 7:12 into the second period.

After making history on Tuesday night in New Jersey with setting the franchise record for assist by a defenseman, Ekblad added on to that record with a primary assist on Forsling’s goal.

Fresh off an eight-year, $46M extension that will carry until the 2032 season, it was already a big day for Forsling. He added on to that with his 10th goal of the season, his third double digit goal season as a member of the Panthers.

“I’m just very grateful for the trust that [the Panthers] gave me, and I can’t wait to show it,” Forsling said on his extension during his interview during intermission with Bally Sports’ Katie Engleson

Philadelphia tilted the ice with their hard gap game in the third period where they did not give the Panthers a lot of space. They would make the Panthers pay with a goal in the final minute.

Former Panther Marc Staal’s shot from the blue line was redirected by Garnet Hathaway, who was all alone on the doorstep. Bobrovsky made the original save, but no Panthers were around the crease to clear it. Hathaway scored on the second opportunity to ice the game and deny Florida any points in the standings.

The Flyer have won the season series against Florida winning both games by a score of 2-1 in regulation. Ersson stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced on Thursday, 42 of 44 in the season series.

Florida will turn their focus to the Calgary Flames on Saturday where former Panthers Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar will make their second visit back to South Florida since being traded in the 2022 offseason.

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