Three takeaways: Panthers play 'poorly' in win, Lundell's confidence growing
Sergei Bobrovsky playing his way into Vezina conversation
It certainly wasn't pretty, but once again the Florida Panthers were able to get the job done.
Florida looked like the team that had played the night before, not the one that was rested and healthy, as Ottawa nearly pulled off the two-night Florida sweep before the Panthers came away with the overtime winner on Tuesday.
Was it the first game at home after a tough road trip? Yup.
Did Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice mention concern about the team being a little too high after their 9-2 win in Tampa on Saturday? He did.
Fortunately for the Panthers, even when they’re not at their best, it’s still possible to earn two points on any given night thanks to the overall talent on the team.
On this night, Sergei Bobrovsky was called upon to make several key stops while all the goals could fall under the category of secondary scoring.
Hey…a win is a win, right?
Let’s get to the takeaways.
Panthers did not play well
For whatever reason, the Cats just didn’t have it on Tuesday.
Ottawa did well to clog the area around their blue line and limit Florida’s ability to get their forecheck game going.
When it was over, even with the victory, Maurice didn’t mince words.
"None of the prior (tough games)…we hadn't played poorly in one, and today we did,” he said. “That's not like another style that we'd like to nail down. We've been really good and we've played very, very well. We weren't very good tonight."
Confident shot by Lundell
It’s been apparent that Anton Lundell has turned a corner over the past month.
Perhaps the spark he needed was filling in for an injured Sasha Barkov and playing with Sam Reinhart on his wing for a handful of games.
He looked invigorated at the time, and he’s continued to play at that level for the Panthers in the time since, regardless of who has been on his wing.
Tuesday’s overtime goal was a product of his growing confidence.
The skill was always there.
Confidence isn’t as easy to both obtain and maintain.
"He made a good decision because the angle wasn't there originally, and he waited for it and showed some patience,” Maurice said. “If he had taken the shot at the original angle, we wouldn't think too much of the opportunity, but he showed real good presence there because the goalie dropped on that and was probably expecting a pass across the crease. That was pretty fine shot.”
Brick wall Bob
If Bobrovsky continues to perform at the level he’s been operating on for the majority of this season, we’re going to have to start talking about him as a true Vezina Trophy candidate.
He’s been among the NHL leaders in several key goaltending stats while remaining in the top three or four in wins.
On most nights, he’s not required to steal a win for Florida.
This wasn’t most nights.
“We had 17 shot blocks in the first period,” Maurice said. “That's a tell, right? Your hands are slow, your feet aren't moving, so your goalie has to be really good. I think our goaltending has been very good. We haven't asked them to be the difference too, too often. They've had to be as good as the other guy a bunch of nights and that's usually true in any kind of playoff team game, but we needed him to be the guy tonight, and he was."
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