'The game was right there': Panthers locker room reacts following tough loss to Islanders
Florida outshot the Islanders 45-27, including 18-6 during the third period, but ultimately lost 4-3
It was a tough night for the home team on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena.
The Florida Panthers were the better team, both by the eye test and statistically, but a strong effort in goal and some timely bounces led to a 4-3 win by the visiting New York Islanders.
Florida outshot their opponent 45-27 on an impressive 94 shot attempts, which was 40 more than the Isles sent toward Panthers netminder Anthony Stolarz.
On the other side of the ice, Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin was amazingly solid, stopping 12 of Florida’s 13 high danger shots. Florida’s expected goals was 4.37.
Here are some quick quotes straight from the Panthers postgame locker room:
Gus Forsling:
(On the Islanders defending) "I think they did a good job being in the (shooting) lane, blocking a lot of shots. We were trying to get the puck there, but I think they were doing a good job blocking."
"We battled until the end, but we just couldn't get it done today."
"I think we dominated the game five on five, and we created a lot, but we didn't get the puck in."
(On New York scoring twice on rebounds) "We want to try to clear those (rebound chances) but you know, it goes very quick out there, just right off the pad and right to their sticks, but we’ve got to do a better job trying to clear them."
"The game was right there. I think we played the right way to be honest, but we couldn't really get the puck in. They did a good job."
Carter Verhaeghe:
"I think they capitalized on their opportunities. We had a lot of looks and they kept us to the outside pretty good, but I think we had a lot of chances to score. Their goalie played well and they were opportunistic, for sure."
(On Florida’s comeback attempt) "We fought back and scored a couple goals. We didn't give up and right to the end we almost got a couple of there, but they were good at blocking shots and not letting us get to net."
(On Matthew Tkachuk scoring for the first time in 10 games) "I'm not too worried about him. He's a hell of a player and a leader on the team, one of the best players in the league. I think sometimes the puck isn't bouncing. He's getting lots of looks. I think he's pretty good about it, and he's sticking with it, and he's gonna get a lot of goals."
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