Late comeback effort falls short as Panthers lose in Winnipeg 6-4
Florida went just 1-for-7 on the man advantage while allowing the Jets to score a pair of power play goals
Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports - Late comeback effort falls short as Panthers lose in Winnipeg 6-4The Florida Panthers may have had a fair amount of positives to take from their season-opening loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, but that was far from the case on Saturday in Winnipeg.
The Jets did well limiting Florida’s opportunities and ability to create zone time while moving the puck with relative ease in the Panthers zone.
That and winning the special teams battle all added up to Winnipeg handling Florida 6-4 in front of a packed Canada Life Centre on the Jets’ Opening Night.
There was a late appearance by the Comeback Cats, with Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues scoring late in the third period to trim Winnipeg’s lead to 5-4.
Florida nearly tied the game when Gus Forsling, after saving a goal with a blocked shot, fired a long pass that sent Matthew Tkachuk on a shorthanded breakaway with about 90 seconds left.
Florida’s superstar hit the post after beating Jets’ goalie Connor Hellebuyck to the glove side though, and seconds later Winnipeg scored into an empty net.
The Panthers are now 0 for 2 on the 2023-24 NHL season.
It only took 77:13 but the Panthers finally got their first goal of the season, and it came in a familiar way.
Sam Reinhart picked up a power play goal, something he's proven to be quite good at during his time with Florida, on assists from Rodrigues and Tkachuk.
For Tkachuk, it was the 300th assist of his NHL career.
Overall on Saturday, Winnipeg’s defense of the neutral zone proved to be difficult for the Panthers to crack.
Often when carrying the puck up ice, Florida’s puck carriers would be facing four Jets defenders stacked up between the red and blue lines.
The Panthers will now head east to wrap up their season-opening three-game road trip on Monday night against the New Jersey Devils.
Here are some thoughts and observations from Saturday’s game in Winnipeg:
Sergei Bobrovsky ended up surrendering five goals on 34 shots, but one positive in his game was that his rebound control, usually an area of struggle, was better than usual.
Newcomer Evan Rodrigues is such a good fit with Florida’s forwards. A smart, gifted playmaker who also happens to be a shoot-first guy with a cannon.
As such, Florida’s power play should be one of the better ones in the league again this season. The addition of Rodrigues and Ekman-Larsson to Florida’s 1-2 punch of Tkachuk and Reinhart cannot be understated.
But on that note, the Panthers special teams have to be better. Yes, Florida’s power play is generating plenty of grade-A opportunities, but so far they’ve converted on just one of their ten man advantages. The Panthers have also allowed 10 power plays in their first two games, giving up goals on three of them.
Kevin Stenlund quietly had a solid game in the faceoff circle, winning 11 of his 18 draws.
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