Florida hits the road for a massive four-game trip with the season in the balance
Florida hits the road for a massive four-game trip with the season in the balance
It felt like a playoff atmosphere inside FLA Live Arena on Saturday night when the Florida Panthers hosted the New York Rangers.
Florida got off to one of its best starts of the season, jumping out to a 2-0 lead.
Things would change quickly though between the first and second period. Perhaps someone brought some Cuban coffee to the Rangers locker room because they were lights out the rest of the night.
The next four goals of the game would be scored by the visitors, much to the delight of the large contingent of Rangers fans in the building.
The Cats made it close down the stretch, but ultimately came up short for a third straight game.
Florida now much hope for some help on the out-of-town scoreboard in order to keep within striking distance of one of the two Wild Card spots.
A big road trip awaits the Panthers that will take them through eastern Canada and central Ohio.
FIRST PERIOD
One thing that was very apparent from the get-go was the physical play. There was a lot of hitting.
Florida got on the board first when Sasha Barkov got to a loose puck in the crease and knocks it home.
Halak made a save on a Forsling point shot but the puck remained loose in the crease.
Barkov was shoved toward the top of the crease but was able to, in one motion, reverse direction and dive toward the loose puck, which was sitting in the blue paint behind Halak.
New York challenged for offside and it looked like Barkov may have been in the zone a millimeter early, but the linesmen ruled the play onside and the goal counted.
The Panthers were up 1-0 midway through the first. All was well.
Ryan Lomberg then found the twine later in the period to put Florida up by a deuce.
Marc Staal did a nice job holding the puck in at the right point. He drove down the boards and took a Rangers player with him before dropping the puck to Lomberg, who fired a one-timer past a screened Halak.
Soon after the goal, Lomberg was penalized for what appeared to be a very questionable roughing call in the Panthers offensive zone, but Florida was able to kill off the two-minute disadvantage, their second of the period.
Niko Mikkola gave the Rangers fans in the building a charge when he rang a shot off the outside post, but that would be the extent of the opening frame excitement.
Despite taking a couple of offensive zone penalties, Florida carried a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
SECOND PERIOD
The Rangers came out firing in the second, as you’d expect.
Sergei Bobrovsky made a few big saves to keep New York off the board, but it was clear the momentum had shifted.
If not for strong efforts by both Bob and Florida’s penalty killers, the Rangers could’ve made a big dent in the score sooner than they did.
New York finally cashed in after a misplay by the Panthers in their own end.
Josh Mahura whiffed on Filip Chytil, who picked up the puck at the blue line and moved into the zone. Mahura failed to get either the player or the puck, and it led to a two on one down low.
The puck found its way back to Chytil but he was stopped by Bob, but the rebound bounced over Eric Staal’s stick and was poked home by Kaapo Kakko.
The Rangers continued to press, but it wouldn’t be until late in the period that they’d final get the game tied.
Jacob Truba brought the puck into Florida’s end and absorbed a hit by Radko Gudas in order to send a pass across the zone to a streaking Alexis Lafrenière.
Lafrenière dangled around Lomberg and shuffled a backhand that eluded Bobrovsky between the legs.
At one point late in the first period Florida led 11-1 in shots on goal. When the second period ended, shots were 24-20 Rangers.
THIRD PERIOD
It didn’t even take 90 seconds for the Rangers to take the lead, and it was off a horribly unlucky play.
Patrick Kane had the puck on his stick along the boards and sent a relatively easy shot toward the net. Verhaeghe tried deflecting it away and instead the puck went off his stick blade, up in the air and past an unsuspecting Bobrovsky.
About five minutes later Chytil gave the Rangers a two-goal lead.
Aaron Ekblad tried to play the puck at Florida’s blueline, but it bounced over his stick and right to a streaking Chytil. He moved in on a semi-breakaway and beat Bob to the stick side.
Things seemed bleak, but only for a moment.
That’s because less than a minute later Florida got back on the board, right off an offensive zone draw.
Verhaeghe picked up the puck in the corner and drove behind the net. He tried to pull off a wraparound, but the puck bounced to the top of the crease.
That’s where Barkov was setting up shop, and he scored his second of the game and 20th of the season to make the score 4-3 Rangers.
Bobrovsky came up with a big breakaway save on Patrick Kane with around 8:40 left in the game, sliding to his left and getting his pad over to stop the shot.
Florida pulled Bob with about two minutes left. Reinhart got a great look at the net off a Montour shot, but Halak made a sprawling pad save.
QUICK HITS
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