Tag Archive for: Florida Panthers

Why Panthers Are Poised to Learn from Last Year’s Stanley Cup Loss

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Just the New York Rangers and either the Oilers or the Stars are all that separate the Florida Panthers from their first-ever Stanley Cup title. The Panthers were in a similar situation last year, sweeping the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals, only to lose the Stanley Cup Finals in five games to the upstart Golden Knights. While disappointing, that loss could be considered a learning experience for the Panthers, giving them hope that this year will be different. Let’s look at some of the reasons why the Panthers will succeed in 2024 where they faltered in 2023.

Team Effort

Florida’s postseason success last year was largely a result of Matthew Tkachuk carrying the Panthers in crunch time and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky going above and beyond what was expected of him. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with relying on your biggest star and your goalie to carry the load. It allowed the Panthers to reach the Stanley Cup Finals as the no. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, relying on two key players isn’t always sustainable, which the Panthers found out in the Stanley Cup Finals.

 

Luckily, that hasn’t been the case for Florida this year. The Panthers have played more of a team game during the first two rounds of the playoffs. Rather than eking out tight games thanks to Tkachuk coming through in the clutch, half of Florida’s postseason wins in the first two rounds came by multiple goals. The entire roster is contributing to the team’s success, which is why the Panthers finished the regular season as the top seed, meaning this year’s postseason run has been expected rather than being a fluke.

Balance

Along those lines, the Panthers have had great balance, no longer relying on Tkachuk too much or asking him to carry them on his shoulders. A year ago, he led the Panthers in goals and assists during the postseason. But through the first two rounds of the playoffs this year, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe all scored more goals than Tkachuk. 

 

To be fair, Tkachuk holds the team lead in points, as his assists have been a catalyst for Florida’s attack. But the Panthers are far from a one-man show, as 11 players already have multiple goals in 11 playoff games whereas 13 players had multiple goals in 21 postseason games last year. Not having to rely so much on Tkachuk to jumpstart the offense figures to be a key differentiator this season now that the Panthers are deep in the playoffs.

Full Strength at the Right Time

Naturally, being healthy at the right time of year is critical to playoff success. The Panthers were undoubtedly hindered by injuries during last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. But there is little question that the Panthers are as close to full health right now as they can get. Most notably, defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour missed significant chunks of time during the regular season, playing 51 and 66 games, respectively. 

 

However, both have been healthy during the playoffs, each ranking among the top three Panthers in ice time through the first two rounds of the playoffs. That will help to ensure that the Panthers are at their best on the defensive end of the ice, providing adequate support for Bobrovsky to shine without having to carry the team on his back the way he did during large stretches of last year’s playoffs.

Been There, Done That

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, never discount the importance of experience. Just reaching the Stanley Cup Finals last year was a big step for a franchise that hadn’t been there since 1996. The Panthers brought back 15 players from last season, giving them a core of experienced players, which wasn’t the case a year ago. Florida doubled down by bringing in veterans like Vladimir Tarasenko and Nikko Mikkola who each won the Stanley Cup earlier in their career.

 

With that experience, the Panthers have one less obstacle than they had a year ago. They aren’t going to fold in pressure-filled moments or be intimidated by the big stage. That alone could be enough to put them over the top in 2024. There have been eight instances in NHL history of a team losing the Stanley Cup Finals only to lift the cup the next year, but not since the Penguins did it in 2009. Perhaps the Panthers can be the next.

 

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Barkov Ties Franchise Assists Record, Panthers Defeat Rangers 4-3

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SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers continued their winning ways against one of the league’s bests, defeating the New York Rangers 4-3 off of Carter Verhaeghe’s game winner.

 

Florida has won their last three games, improving their record to 21-12-2.

 

Sergei Bobrovsky had 31 saves  in his 17th win of the season. 

 

Here’s three takeaways from the game.

 

Barkov ties another franchise record

Aleksander Barkov entered Friday’s contest with 412 career assists — second most in  Panthers’ franchise history.

 

Only Jonathan Huberdeau had more with 415.

 

Barkov, 28, got three primary assists in the first two periods on Friday night — equaling Huberdeau’s 415 Panthers’ assists. 

 

“I’m sure that’s going to be another record broken very soon,” Matthew Tkachuk said of Barkov. “He’s just been incredible all year… From the start of camp, he just drives everything for us.”

 

Barkov will take sole possession of the record with his next assist — adding his name to yet another milestone in Panthers’ history. 

 

Florida’s captain is second on the team in scoring with 38 points in 32 games.

 

Rodrigues, Reinhart, Barkov… again

When Florida needs offense, it’s probably going to come from the first line of Barkov, Reinhart and Rodrigues. 

 

That would be the case again with the Rangers in town. 

 

Rodrigues would get his seventh goal of the season with 1:15 remaining in the first to open the scoring. 

 

In the second, Reinhart would double the Panthers lead with his team-high 22nd goal of the  year.

 

After trailing 2-0 in the second, the Rangers would claw back to tie the game, with goals from Artemi Panarin and Will Cuylle.  

 

Florida didn’t let their blown two-goal lead deter them. In need of a goal, Reinhart and Barkov would connect again to put the Panthers up 3-2. 

 

Reinhart scored his second of the game and 23rd goal of the season less than three minutes after the Rangers tied it to retake the lead for Florida.

 

The trio combined for six points in the game. They linked up for six points just two nights before in Tampa. 

 

Another great night on the penalty kill

Even when the goals weren’t coming, or as the power play struggled, Florida’s penalty kill was their strong point.

 

The Panthers were 100 percent on the kill again on Friday, going 2/2 against the league’s best power play team (Rangers 31.1 percent).

 

“Our penalty kill has been pretty darn solid now for about a month and a half,” head coach  Paul Maurice said. “I think we feel confident in it.”

 

Since Nov. 20, the Panthers have had the best penalty kill in the league — conceding just  four times on 56 chances over that stretch (92.9 percent). 

 

Panthers Notes

Florida plays the second half of their home back-to-back on Dec. 30 against the Montreal Canadiens.

 

The Panthers are currently second in the Atlantic, third in the East with 44 points.

Three Panthers rookies set to get their first taste of the NHL

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Another year of Florida Panthers hockey means new opportunities and new faces in Sunrise. 

 

Three of those new faces are of players who are about to experience their first taste of the National Hockey League with the Panthers opening the season later tonight in Saint Paul against the Minnesota Wild.

 

Mackie Samoskevich, Uvis Balinskis, and Justin Sourdif all battled through, and impressed in Paul Maurice’s rigorous training camp to crack the Panthers opening day roster — this being the first NHL job for all of them. 

 

Samoskevich, 20, will have a great chance right away to make his mark and stick around in Sunrise. He’ll most likely be making his NHL debut tonight in the top-9, playing alongside Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart against the Wild. Florida’s 2021 first-round pick expressed his excitement about getting to play in his first NHL game.

 

“It’s a long time coming, something I’ve set out for for a little bit now,” Samoskevich told reporters on Monday.

 

And for his upcoming rookie lap, he got a few pointers from his NHL friends. “I got some buddies that had their first already, so just don’t fall and make sure you do your hair before.”

 

Samoskevich said that he found out last weekend that he’d be sticking around in Sunrise for the start of the season.



“Paul [Maurice] called me in on Saturday before the game, told me I was resting and that I’d probably be in on Thursday (against Minnesota),” Samoskevich said. “[I was] a little pumped about that.”

 

On the blueline, 27-year-old Uvis Balinskis is still a rookie, but an experienced one at that. The Latvian native comes to South Florida this season after spending the last three seasons in the Czech Extraliga. He also has a few years in the KHL under his belt from his time with Latvian side Dinamo Riga.

 

In what is to be his first season in North America, Balinskis beat out multiple players with NHL experience to grab the seventh and final defensemen spot out of camp. His impressive finish to the preseason was enough for the Panthers to keep Balinskis in Sunrise. 

 

“He’s built through his camp,” Maurice said about Balinskis. “I don’t know if surprised is the right word because the pro scouts worked hard to find a player like this, but [we’re] excited about the potential of it.”

 

Balinskis fits in quite well with the way the Panthers play — active defenseman who looks to headman the puck and push forward the play. 

 

“We like the way he moves the puck but more like the way he plays the game without any fear,” Maurice added. “He’s trying to make plays, he’s trying to get involved… you can’t feel any nervousness from him.”

 

The starting six defenseman are set at the moment so Balinskis won’t be getting into his first game just yet. However, as the seventh defenseman,  he may get his moment — whether it’s as an injury replacement or a performance swap — sooner than later.

 

While Samoskevich is already penciled in the lineup and Balinskis the next man up on the blueline, 21-year-old Justin Sourdif may not get into a game immediately, but the young forward 100 percent earned the right to be on the team out of camp. 

 

“I’m really happy to be up here with the guys,” Sourdif said on Tuesday after making the team. “While I’m up here I’m just going to try and learn as much as possible and enjoy the experience.”

 

Florida currently has 14 forwards on their active roster — one of whom is the injured Sam Bennett (day-to-day) that won’t be playing Thursday night in Minnesota, and possibly not at all on this three-game road trip. 

 

With Bennett temporarily out of the lineup, Sourdif will most likely start the season in Florida as the 13th forward. The youngster from British Columbia entered camp on the outside looking in, but he showed the coaching staff why he deserved to be on the opening day roster.

 

“Speed first, he’s got a willingness to get into the heavy areas quickly,” Maurice said on Sourdif. “We liked his energy.”

 

Maurice spoke highly of Sourdif and Samoskevich alike, and alluded to them both getting into their first NHL games eventually. 

 

“We think there were two good young prospects there who are probably, sooner rather than later, going to make their NHL debuts, he was very good.”

 

Samoskevich, Balinskis, and Sourdif are waiver eligible, so if the Panthers want to see them get more ice time in the AHL — like they did with Spencer Knight — sending them down to Charlotte will always be in the cards. 

 

As for now, there’s some great stories to be made for these three rookies.

Florida Panthers win Game 2 in OT, return to Sunrise with 2-0 lead

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Less than 48 hours after playing the sixth-longest game in NHL history, the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers were back on the ice in Raleigh for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

As it did in Game 1, this contest went to overtime. Unlike Thursday’s game, tonight they only needed one over time – where the Panthers won 2-1. Once again off of the stick of Matthew Tkachuk.

 

For the second straight game, Carolina took the first lead of the game. 

 

Just 1:43 into the first, Sebastian Aho layed a shot from near the boards towards the front of the Panthers’ goal. Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield, who jumped up in the rush, redirected the Aho shot past Sergei Bobrovsky to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead.

After Carolina opened the scoring on their first shot of the game, the Panthers appeared to have tied it. 

Gustav Forsling walked in from the point before wiring a redirected shot past Anti Raanta to get the Panthers on the board.

However, this Panthers goal would quickly be removed after Carolina’s challenge for offsides on the zone entry proved to be correct.  

 

After the overturned Panthers goal, the Canes stepped on the gas. 

 

For nearly the entire first period, it was Carolina’s game. At the halfway mark of the period, the shots on goal were 13-1 in favor of the Hurricanes. 

 

If matters couldn’t get worse for the Panthers, Carolina looked like they had taken a two-goal lead in the first.

 

But as Rod Brind’Amour did earlier in the game, Paul Maurice challenged the play for offsides. 

 

Florida’s challenge was successful, wiping Jack Drury’s goal off the board. The Canesead was still one. 

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Trailing by one goal heading into the second, the Panthers pulled a repeat of Game 1 —  getting on  as the board with a goal. 



The Barkov line has been outstanding this postseason at getting the Cats back into games, and oddly enough, it’s happened quite often in the second period. 

 

7:43 into the second, Florida’s captain put himself on the highlight reel. Coming down alone on Raanta, Barkov faked a between the legs shot before pulling the puck to his backhand, beating the Canes’ goalie to tie it at 1-1. 

 

Barkov’s goal would be the only one scored in the period. The teams went to the break tied. 

 

An early storyline in this has been the desire of these two teams to play more hockey than required… ok not really but for a second straight game, regulation would not be enough in Raleigh. 

 

After a 4 OT thriller on Thursday, the Canes and Panthers went to overtime again, and luckily for everyone this OT lasted only minutes. 

 

Matthew Tkachuk sent the Panthers to the hotel up 1-0 in the series after Game 1. Tonight he sent the Cats back to Sunrise with a 2-0 series lead. 

 

1:51 into OT with the Panthers on the powerplay, the Cats executed a tic-tac-toe play with Tkachuk putting away the winner. This was Florida’s first goal on the power play in the series, and it couldn’t come at a better time. 

 

After taking both games on the road, the Panthers head back home for Games 3 & 4. This is the first time in 27 years that Panthers’ fans can see their team play in the Conference Finals at home.

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Carter Verhaeghe sends Florida Panthers to second round

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It seemed improbable, maybe impossible. Down 3-1 against the greatest regular season team in NHL history, the Florida Panthers were written off by the hockey world. 

 

The only group that believed in the Panthers were themselves.

 

The Panthers shocked the hockey world tonight, defeating the Presidents’ Trophy winning Boston Bruins in Game 7 overtime, 4-3 to advance to the second round.

 

After clawing back in the series to force Game 7 in Boston, the Panthers once again found themselves in a hole tonight, trailing 3-2 with exactly a minute left in regulation.

 

Brandon Montour kept his team’s season alive, rifling a shot past Jeremy Swayman to tie the  game at 3-3.

 

With the late equalizer, this series went to overtime for the second time – both being elimination scenarios for the Panthers in Boston.

 

Winner takes all overtime in Game 7. Next bounce wins. Losers go home, winners move on. 

 

The extra frame saw both teams get their fair share of chances to win the series, but the two goaltenders kept their nets shut. 

 

Boston had a few early chances on Sergei Bobrovsky, while Florida had two great looks in front of Swayman from Matther Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe. 

 

The final shift of the game came from Florida’s three best players in the series.

 

A great forecheck from Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk prevented the Bruins from breaking out of their own zone. After an aggressive puck battle behind Boston’s net, Bennett fed Verhaeghe at the faceoff circle and the Panthers forward scored his second series clinching ot goal for the Panthers in consecutive years. 

 

The Panthers just snuck into the postseason, clinching their playoff berth before the final game of the regular season. The odds were against them as they took on a Bruins team that set the NHL record for both wins and points.

 

Florida will head to Toronto for the second-round to take on a Maple Leafs team that just got over a 19-year playoff series winless streak.

Five Takeaways from Panthers’ Game 1 loss to Bruins

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The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs is officially underway and the Presidents’ Trophy winning Boston Bruins played host to the Florida Panthers at TD Garden on Monday night for Game 1 of their first round series. 

 

The Bruins defended their home ice with a 3-1 win over the Panthers; taking a 1-0 series lead. 

 

Here are the takeaways. 

Battle of the stars

The two best players in this series are David Pastrnak of the Bruins and Matthew Tkachuk of the Panthers. 

 

Tkachuk and Pastrnak were the only players from the two teams to score 100 points this season, with Pastrnak finishing with 113 and Tkachuk with 109.

The Bruins’ star winger continued in Game 1 what he did all season, score. Following his 61 goal regular season, Pastrnak got his first goal of the playoffs just 5:58 into the first period, with an open net tap in on the power play, putting the Bruins up 1-0.

 

Like his fellow Atlantic Division All-Star, Tkachuk got his first goal of the playoffs tonight in Boston. Tkachuk jumped in on the forecheck, corralled a loose puck and pulled a backhand forehand move to beat Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark, getting the Panthers on the board. 

 

Coming into the series we highlighted these two guys as players to watch, they didn’t disappoint tonight. 

 

Rough bounces for Alex Lyon gave the Bruins breathing room

Florida decided to run with their hot hand in net for Game 1, giving Alex Lyon his first NHL playoff start. 

 

In Game 1, Lyon made more than a few highlight reel saves. Glove saves, cross crease pad robberies, he made them all.

 

Unfortunately for Lyon, between all the great saves, there were a few bad bounces here and there that put the Panthers in a hole.

 

3:41 into the second, Brad Marchand sent a fairly weak wrist shot towards the Panthers’ goal. Lyon fluffed the routine glove save and the puck trickled in, giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead. 

 

Later in the period with the Bruins leading by just one, it seemed like Lyon had covered a loose puck in his crease, but that wasn’t the case. 

 

After a few whacks in front, the puck perfectly landed on top of Lyon’s pad and sat there for a few seconds before Jake DeBrusk tapped it in to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead. 

Florida’s top line was awfully quiet

The Panthers top line of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair should have had a bigger impact than they did tonight. 

 

Verhaeghe finished the regular season top 10 in the NHL for goals with 42 while Barkov had another PPG season. 

 

The Panthers captain went the entire game without a shot on goal and frankly wasn’t very noticeable tonight besides his 52% success rate in the face off circle. 

 

The rest of the line wasn’t much better. Anthony Duclair had the most “quality” looks out of the trio, but he still wasn’t able to threaten Ullmark. 

 

Florida needed offense badly in this game and they didn’t get any help from their number one line. 

Florida’s first round power play drought continues 

The Panthers did not score a single goal in last year’s first round series against Washington – yet they were still able to get out of that series in six games. The Cats only scored one goal on 31 power play chances in last season’s playoffs. 

 

Tonight the Panthers once again struck out on their mad-advantage, going 0/2. The Bruins were able to lock the Cats up on their second PP attempt, not giving them a moment to set up. 

 

It was pretty much the same story when Florida pulled the goalie for an extra attacker with about 3 minutes left in the game. 

Linus Ullmark shut the door

Boston’s starting goalie should be the favorite to win the Vezina, he was that good in the regular season. 

 

Tonight it was no different. 

 

Florida didn’t get “goalied” tonight, as the Bruins played a fairly complete team game. However, Ullmark still had to face 32 shots from a Panthers team who was firing pucks from pretty much everywhere in the o-zone. 

 

Ullmark made the saves he needed tonight and he got the goal support from his team, which was enough for Boston to take an early series lead 

Five Takeaways from Panthers’ dominating win over Canadiens

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SUNRISE: The Florida Panthers put a close to their 2022 at home tonight with a dominant 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.


The Panthers will play Friday night in Carolina before starting the new year at home against the New York Rangers.

 

Here’s tonight’s takeaways: 

 

Barkov returns with a career-night

The Panthers were without captain Aleksaner Barkov for three games after he was injured Dec. 17 in New Jersey.

 

In his first game back since the injury, Barkov did not wait long to put his stamp on the game. 2:37 into the first, Barkov took a point-shot from Gustav Forsling off the leg, and into the Habs net. 

 

Later in the period, with the Panthers on the power play, Barkov let a shot fly from the circle and buried it past Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault. 

 

Still in the first period, with Barkov now on hat trick watch, No. 16 put away his third goal of the period, and the hats rained from the rafters of FLA Live Arena.

 

Barkov finished his night back with 5 points, tying his career-high.

 

The boys are back in town – Gudas, Barkov, Ekblad

A few weeks ago it seemed like every night there was another player coming out of the Panthers lineup, while AHL call ups were coming in.

 

After a few additional days without a game following the holiday break, the Panthers got some of their big boys back; Barkov, Ekblad and Gudas.

 

Barkov had five points tonight, while Ekblad and Gudas shaped what has often been a depleted blue line this season. 

 

“The guy had no points but Radko Gudas has a huge impact on that game tonight in terms of the minutes we have to play the other defenseman,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “Having those guys come back, it felt a little bit like the first game of the season in some ways, so there’s an excitement going out.”

 

Let the power play bells ring

With Florida having what was as close to a full lineup as possible tonight, they had all their top guns out there on power play unit 1. 

 

The top unit delivered tonight, scoring on three of their attempts of the game, on goals from Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk (x2). 


With Montreal also having luck tonight on the power play, these goals were important for Florida. 

 

Matthew Tkachuk increases his team lead in points

It was a quiet few days for Matthew Tkachuk as the Panthers forward was going through his worst scoring drought of the season… three games. 

 

Tkachuk made up for lost time tonight with four points, including two goals on the power play, right in front of the net.

 

“I think he was raised right to be at the net,” Aleksander Barkov said. “He knows where to be and what to do there, so it’s great to have that type of guy on the team.”

 

The 25-year-old now has team-high 44 points in just 33 games this season.

 

Tonight’s game felt a lot more like last year’s Panthers team

The 2021-2022 Panthers scored more goals than any team in the 2000’s. This year’s team however hasn’t been able to run away with games like they did last year.

 

Florida had a jump in their step from puck-drop and it looked like they were hungrier on the puck than Montreal. 

 

Led by Barkov’s first period hat trick and an early second period goal by Matthew Tkachuk, Florida was in the driver’s seat.

 

The icing on the cake was an extremely dominating third period by the Cats, where they scored three goals while preventing Montreal from generating anything around Bobrovsky even-strength.  

 

The night ended with a mid third period Pepas appearance, a seven goal performance and a “we want 10” chant from the Sunrise crowd.  

Five Takeaways from Panthers’ loss to Devils

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SUNRISE:  Two days after losing 7-3 in Boston, the Panthers dropped their second game in a row to the New Jersey Devils 4-2 at FLA Live Arena.

 

The visiting Devils were able to snap their six game losing streak, while the Panthers have dropped three of their last four games at home. 

 

Here’s tonight’s takeaways:

 

Eric Staal scores in consecutive games

This December has been a good one for Eric Staal.

 

The veteran forward has tallied 8 points in 11 games this month. In the 16 previous games, he failed to get a single point on the scoresheet. 

 

After signing with the team towards the end of October, the Panthers have had to rely on his services frequently with all the injuries they have suffered. It was a rough start to his Panthers career, however his recent production in the stat column has been fairly consistent heading into the holiday break

 

Florida gets Anton Lundell back  

The 21-year-old center has missed the last nine games due to a non-COVID illness. Tonight was the first game Lundell has played since Dec. 1 in Vancouver. 

 

The Finn didn’t seem to have any issue jumping back into the flow of things tonight. He played 14 minutes and was able to get on the scoresheet with an assist on Eetu Luostarinen’s goal.

 

“[It] felt great, it’s been a really long time. Tough time to be out,” Lundell said. “I’m finally happy that I’m able to join the team.”

 

He was also penalized with his first career NHL fight, though Lundell wasn’t sure if he’d count it as a tilt. 

 

“I don’t know if it counts as a fight or a wrestling match but whatever,” he added. 

 

Mackenzie Blackwood flipped the script of the game with key saves in the third

The Devils goaltender ended the night with 34 saves on 36 shots. 

 

The Panthers really peppered him around the front of goal, however he stood tall to keep it a one goal game when the Devils were trailing 2-1. 

 

He was able to make a flashy glove save on Ryan Lomberg in front of his goal. If that went in, the Panthers would have taken a two goal lead.

 

Less than a minute after that big save, the Devils went the other way and tied the game of of Jesper Bratt’s second goal of the game. 

 

With the Panthers down 3-2, they pulled the goalie for an extra attacker in the dying minutes of the third. The Cats had chances in high-scoring areas, but Blackwood slammed the door and the Devils put away the game with an empty netter. 

 

Sam Bennett’s puck control game was on full display

A big standout for me tonight was Sam Bennett’s composure on the puck. 

 

As the Panthers moved up the ice in transition, Bennett was really good at weaving around the Devil’s players to open up the ice. 

 

When Eetu Luostarinen scored to put the Panthers up 2-1 in the second, Bennett diced through the neutral zone, chipped the puck to himself on the boards, avoided a check and spun into open ice to hit a streaking Luostarinen. 

 

A huge part of Bennett’s game is his skating ability with the puck. That was evident tonight. 

 

Eetu Luostarinen gets one goal closer to surpassing his career-high 

It’s been a sort of breakout year for 24-year-old Eetu Luostarinen. 

 

He played the majority of last season as the fourth line center, which meant his ice time wasn’t ideal to showcase his skills. 

 

This season he was pushed up to the top-9 as a winger. With the increased ice time and role on the team, Luostarinen has shined. 

 

Last year, he finished the season with 9 goals in 78 games. In his 34th game of this season, Luostarinen buried his 8th.

 

He’s just one goal away from equaling his career-high goal total and we aren’t at the halfway point of the season yet. Luostarinen is on pace to shatter last year’s goal total. 

Five Takeaways from Panthers’ loss to Penguins

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SUNRISE: The Panthers were back at home on Thursday night to faceoff against the red hot Pittsburgh Penguins, who came to Sunrise riding a six-game win streak.

 

Backstopped by a strong goaltending performance and a multi-point night from their captain Sidney Crosby, the Penguins defeated the Panthers 4-2, extending their win streak to seven.

 

Here’s tonight’s takeaways: 

The illness bug continues to bite the Panthers

Injuries aside, because this team is heavily affected by it, the Panthers have been getting hammered by the “non-COVID” illness bug. 

 

Florida has seen many of their big time players miss time due to illness over the last few weeks. 

 

Last game Carter Verhaeghe was out of the lineup; Anton Lundell hasn’t played since Dec. 1 in Vancouver, and Spencer Knight just returned to the lineup tonight after nine days. 


The Panthers had to play tonight’s game without their leading scorer Matthew Tkachuk, who is out with… an illness.

 

Florida had to roll 11 forwards tonight, even with today’s call up of Aleksi Heponiemi. 

 

Even strength scoring belonged to the Panthers

In a 4-2 loss, Florida came out on top in one category – 5-on-5 goals. 

 

Both of Florida’s goals tonight came at even-strength. Their opponent on the other hand, didn’t score a single one of their goals at 5-on-5.

 

All four of the Penguins’ goals came when they were either up a man, or down.


Pittsburgh scored twice on the power play, once shorthanded and iced the game with an empty net goal when Florida had an extra attacker. 

 

Tonight was a goalie battle

For fans of the man in the crease, this was the game to watch. Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky both battled hard to keep their team’s in the game.

 

For the visiting team, Jarry was the star of the game for Pittsburgh. The Pens goaltender had 32 saves on the night and kept the Panthers special teams off the scoresheet. 

 

Florida had a flurry of good looks in the second period, but Jarry slammed the door shut, as Pittsburgh took that period 2-0. 

 

On the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky started his fifth straight game, finishing the night with 35 saves and three goals against, two of which came from a Pittsburgh powerplay. 

 

Both goaltenders saw multiple odd-man rushes tonight and respectively followed many of those chances with big time saves.  

 

Ryan Lomberg played a solid game with a depleted forward lineup

Ryan Lomberg always puts in a valiant effort no matter how much ice time he gets. With 11 forwards in the lineup, two of which just came from the AHL over the last few days, the Panthers played Lomberg over 14 minutes tonight.

 

The 5 ‘9 forward started the game off hot with his linemate Eric Staal. The pair seemed to have a lot of chemistry with each other tonight and it paid off as they connected for the first goal of the game.

A falling Staal was able to get the puck towards goal before Lomberg was able to beat Jarry up high on a tough angle. 

 

Lomberg plays a fast, hard fore-checking game and tonight it was evident on how much work he does along the boards and corners.

 

Florida lost the game on special teams

While winning the even strength game tonight, Florida’s downfall was their special teams performance.

 

With the lineup having so many guys going in and out this week, the Cats had to do lots of line juggling for the special teams units. 

 

“We have had a different power play unit pretty much every game for the last four,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurcice said. “Start putting that together at five o’clock because the guys are coming to our lineup so late.”

 

On the penalty kill, Florida conceded two goals as the Penguins finished the night 2/3 on the power play. 

 

Florida had three power play chances of their own, however not only did they go 0/3 on the  man-advantage, they also gave up a shorthanded goal to Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang, which tied the game at one early in the second period.

 

The special teams battle killed the Panthers who played a relatively strong even-strength game. 

Five Takeaways from Panthers’ win over Blue Jackets

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SUNRISE: It’s been a struggle as of late in Pantherland. Florida had dropped three of their last four games, as they sat in the bottom half of the tight Atlantic Division standings entering Tuesday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

 

The Panthers were able to  shake off their shaky play from last week tonight, defeating the Blue jackets 4-0, despite missing key players on both sides of the puck.

 

Here’s the takeaways:

Grigori Denisenko makes his season debut

When Florida took Grigori Denisenko 15th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, they would have liked to see their first-round pick be a consistent force in the lineup a few years down the line. 

 

While Florida’s next two first-round picks, Spencer Knight (2019) and Anton Lundell (2020) have both become relied upon players in the lineup, Denisenko has only skated in nine NHL games so far.

 

Earlier today the Panthers announced that they recalled Denisenko from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL). With Carter Verhaeghe out of the lineup tonight, the 22-year-old Denisenko made his season debut. This is only the second NHL game he has played in the last two seasons. 

 

Denisenko finished the night with 13:14 TOI – while getting an opportunity to play on power play unit 2. 

 

“I was fine with his game,” HC Paul Maurice said. “He got a bunch of minutes and he held water and was fine.” 

 

Multiple Panthers leave the game with injuries

 After playing just 1:06 in the first period, Colin White’s night was done. 

 

The Panthers announced during the first intermission that the forward would not return to the game due to an upper-body injury, leaving the Panthers with 11 forwards for the rest of the night. 

 

Florida were already short-handed upfront entering the game, with Anton Lundell (illness) and Carter Verhaeghe (illness) being out of the lineup, in addition to Patric Hornqvist and Anthony Duclair (hasn’t played this season) still being on LTIR.

 

To add salt to the wound, early in the second period, Chris Tiernery took a hard hit near center ice, resulting in him heading down the Panthers tunnel. He would also not return to the game. 

 

The injury woes continue to hurt the Panthers this season. Florida has had to make multiple call ups in the last two weeks, with the likes of Zac Dalpe, Chris Tierney, Matt Kiersted, Aleksi Heponiemi, Grigori Denisenko and Alex Lyon all going between Charlotte and Florida over the last 10 days. Depending on the availability of those who were out of commission tonight, there could be some more moves coming. 

 

Matthew Tkachuk, the multi-point king

The most consistent player on the Panthers season has been the starboy Matthew Tkachuk. 

 

The team leader in points added to his impressive season total, getting a goal and an assist tonight. In 28 games, Tkachuk has 39 points. 

 

On top of that, he extended his multi-point game total this season to 14. 

 

With the Panthers forwards unit being plagued with injuries, Tkachuk has been able to contribute consistently, no matter who is on his line. 

 

Sergei Bobrovsky gets the shutout

Bob got the net again tonight, making it his fourth straight start in goal. 

 

Facing his former team, Bobrovsky stopped all 22 shots he faced in his first shutout of the season. 

 

“I felt good, it’s a big, big two points for us… I thought the guys did a great job, they shut them down, they didn’t give them anything,” Bobrovsky said. 

 
Spencer Knight skated this morning with the team but was not in the lineup as he has been out with an illness for the last two weeks. The Panthers practice tomorrow ahead of their Thursday night game against Pittsburgh, so there is a possibility Bob gets the night off, with Knight getting back into the net.

 

Gustav Forsling hits a career milestone 

After being placed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes before the start of the 2020-2021 NHL season, Gustav Forsling has completely transformed his career with the Florida Panthers.

 

Tonight, Forsling assisted on Brandon Monotur’s goal, giving the Swedish defenseman his 100th career NHL point, in his 266th game.

 

Forsling very well could be the best Bill Zito acquisition.  Forsling flew under the radar during his three season spell with the Chicago Blackhawks to start his NHL career. However, after three seasons in Sunrise, Forsling has emerged as a legitimate top pair defenseman, playing top minutes every night against the best players in the world.