Florida keeps pace in playoff race with resounding win over lowly Canadiens
The stage was easy to set for this one. The Florida Panthers came in desperate for every point in a tight playoff race. The Montreal Canadiens are struggling this season but have shown up with great efforts here and there, seeming to enjoy playing spoiler.
Once the puck was dropped, it was clear what kind of game we were in for.
Buckle up!
FIRST PERIOD
The opening frame saw ten goals scored, all at even strength.
When Mike Matheson sniped a goal that went off the elbow, down and in just 16 seconds into the game, we should’ve known it was going to be a strange night.
Florida and Montreal traded goals for the first eight minutes, with former Panthers goalie Sam Montembeault getting pulled after giving up three goals on six shots.
Sergei Bobrovsky gave up goals on the first three shots he faced before finally getting a few saves under his belt. He finished the period with the same stats that got Montembeault pulled, three goals on six shots.
Some highlights of the period included Colin White scoring his eighth goal off a really nice backhand pass from Nick Cousins, who was along the goal line, and Carter Verhaeghe logging a pair of tallies, his 33rd and 34th of the year.
Sam Reinhart scored for the third straight game, Ryan Lomberg picked up his second goal in four games and defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Gus Forsling rounded out the goal scorers for Florida.
Of the Panthers' 18 skaters, only four failed to log a point during that first period.
The first period also set a new NHL record for fastest ten goals to start a game.
SECOND PERIOD
Second verse same as the first, or at least it started out that way.
Ekblad scored on the power play and Tkachuk continued to pile up the points.
Tkachuk scored Florida’s ninth goal, which was his fourth point of the game. He came into the game riding consecutive three-point outings, so he’s on quite the little streak right now.
Jake Allen was yanked after Tkachuk’s goal, and it really should’ve happened sooner. Allen never looked interested or engaged after entering the game for Montembeault, reacting sluggish and slowly.
Overall Florida had most of the possession. Montreal was very passive in their own zone, often collapsing below the circles and allowing the Panthers to keep the puck and work it around the zone at even strength.
One thing that’s impressive to this point is that the Panthers have yet to take a penalty. It’s a topic that has been brought up a lot this week around head coach Paul Maurice and his players.
THIRD PERIOD
As would be expected in a game that was 9-4 after two period, the third frame had a very blah feel once it began.
Both teams had opportunities as the game went into a brief end-to-end mode until Florida finally took a penalty. The game was 45 minutes old when Ekblad was called for interference.
Montreal ended up scoring on that power play to make the score one Dolly Parton would approve of: 9 to 5.
Aside from the PPG, the Habs didn’t do much to instill fears of a comeback as Florida continued to control possession through the end of the third.
Holding a big lead late in the game, Maurice was able to give some rest to his top forwards, which is always nice when you’re in a late-season playoff race.
QUICK HITS
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