A 3rd Period to Forget…Florida Panthers Game Recap — Game 40 @ Carolina Hurricanes:
The Florida Panthers began their two-week road trip with the first game of a two-game set in Carolina against the Hurricanes. The Panthers were looking to extend their six-game winning streak, and to pull ahead farther in both the Central Division standings and the NHL standings. The Panthers would choose to go with Sergei Bobrovsky in net, and Carolina would go with Petr Mrazek.
The Panthers would come out in the first period with a very strong showing, as they would out-shoot Carolina 13–7 in the opening frame. Florida appeared to have a clear game-plan against the Hurricanes, as they were making sure to slow down Carolina in the neutral zone so that they couldn’t beat the Panthers with speed. Florida would jump out to a 1–0 lead a little over halfway through the first period, as Aleksander Barkov would score his 15th goal of the season at 11:19. The goal would be assisted by Mackenzie Weegar and Carter Verhaeghe.
With the primary assist, Weegar would pull into a tie with Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse for most Even Strength Points amongst NHL Defensemen. Weegar has stepped up in the absence of Aaron Ekblad, and the Panthers have desperately needed Weegar to play this level of hockey. Florida would stifle any chance Carolina had at sustained puck possession for the rest of the period, and would take the 1–0 lead into the first intermission.
There would be some wild back-and-forth action between the two teams in the second period. Carolina would have what appeared to be a goal on the ice waived off due to the referee blowing the whistle prior to the puck going in the net. The Panthers would benefit from a ref’s mistake, but they wouldn’t be able to hold off Carolina’s attack all night. Carolina would score a Power Play goal with a little under two minutes remaining in the second period, as Vincent Trocheck would score his 15th goal of the season assisted by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. On the very next shift however, Aleksander Barkov would give the Panthers the lead once again, as he would score his 16th of the season assisted this time by Carter Verhaeghe and Mason Marchment.
27 seconds after Carolina tied the game 1–1, Barkov would give the Panthers the 2–1 lead heading into the second intermission.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, they would have arguably their worst third period performance of the year in tonight’s game. Carolina would begin the third period on the Power Play due to a late penalty on Frank Vatrano at the end of the second period. Carolina would make Florida pay, as 0:45 in Vincent Trocheck would get his second Power Play goal of the game on a deflection in front. The goal would be assisted by Dougie Hamilton and Sebastian Aho. Trocheck’s 16th goal of the season would tie the game 2–2, and Florida’s woes were only just beginning. Carolina would begin riding the giant wave of momentum, and about 9 minutes into the third Jordan Staal would squeak a puck past Bobrovsky for his 11th goal of the year. It’s a save that Bobrovsky should have been able to make as he saw it the whole way, and a mix up in behind him caused the puck to trickle over the goal line. Carolina would take the 3–2 lead and then never look back. Carolina would add two empty-net goals by Staal and Jesper Fast to bring the final score to 5–2 in favor of Carolina. Florida Defenseman Keith Yandle was benched by Coach Quenneville, and did not record a shift the entire third period. The score would tell you that it wasn’t a close game, but it was once again another nail-biter between Florida and Carolina.
Due to Tampa Bay losing tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Panthers will retain hold of first place in the division with 56 points and remain tied at the top of the league standings with Colorado. Carolina slides ahead of Tampa for second in the Central Division with 55 points, and the three teams atop of the Central are all separated by two points.
The Three Stars from tonight’s game:
- Vincent Trocheck, C (CAR): 2 goals
- Jordan Staal, C (CAR): 2 goals (GWG)
- Petr Mrazek, G (CAR): 34 saves on 36 shots, W
Florida will look to begin a new winning streak as they face these same Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, 4/8/21. That game will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
