Florida Panthers Gut Out Shootout Win in New Jersey
The Florida Panthers snapped a stretch of losses in three of their past four games with a 2-1 shootout win in New Jersey.
The Florida Panthers, scraping out a 2-1 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils in a shootout, snapping a stretch of losses in three of their past four games.
Anton Lundell scored the shootout-winning goal while Spencer Knight stopped two of the three shots he faced in the shootout and 25 of 26 overall.
Jesper Boqvist scored Florida’s lone goal 41 seconds into the second period before Nico Hischier tied it up less than two minutes later.
The first period was scoreless and low-event, but it signaled a possible return to the Panthers' strong, defensive brand, which they have been lacking with Aaron Ekblad out of the lineup for the past three games. The Panthers limited the Devils to only 6 shots on Spencer Knight.
Although the second period remained scoreless and once again relatively low-event, the Panthers began to pick up some speed, putting more offensive zone pressure on the Devils. The shot count for the Panthers just about tripled their shots on goal, going from 5 in the first period to 16 in the second.
Things started to heat up as the seconds ticked down. Uvis Balinskis and Timo Meier pushed and shoved each other, promising a third period full of gritty, defensive hockey from two of the NHL teams that have been among the best defensively so far this season.
Using the spark that began to stir in the second period, the Panthers started the third period with some firepower, breaking the 0-0 score with a goal just 41 seconds into the third by former Devil Jesper Boqvist, assisted by Carter Verhaeghe and Nate Schmidt.
About two minutes later, the Devils captain, Nico Hischier, answered, making the game 1-1. The energy and tension amongst both teams, having ramped up significantly, finally boiled over into a brawl involving Matthew Tkachuck, Nico Hischier, and Jonas Siegenthaler, among others, on the ice for both teams just about five minutes into the third
The scrum resulted in a two-minute minor penalty for roughing for New Jersey’s Siegenthaler at 15:28 and two minor penalties for Tkachuk at 15:28: one he served for interference against Nico Hischier and one that Evan Rodrigues served for Tkachuk’s roughing call on Jonas Siegenthaler.
The Panthers were able to suppress New Jersey’s typically top-notch powerplay and effectively killed off both penalties against Tkachuk. The final minutes of regulation saw chances by both teams, with both Knight and Markstrom practically standing on their heads as regulation ticked down.
Both teams have had their fair share of buzzer-beaters recently, and they have also had their fair share of overtime games. The Panthers are coming off an overtime loss against the Philadelphia Flyers, and the New Jersey Devils are coming off an overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, the Panthers are 5-3 in overtime this season, while the Devils are 2-4.
After Knight held off a Devils team that outshot the Panthers 4-1 in overtime, the game required a shootout. New Jersey sent out Paul Cotter, who scored on a forehand-backhand on Knightshot, giving the Devils a shootout lead. The Panthers sent out Barkov, who scored on Markstrom.
Even at 1-1, the Devils sent out Jesper Bratt who scraped the crossbar. The Panthers then sent out Sam Reinhart, and Markstrom made the save. The Devils send out Jack Hughes, and Knight makes the save. It all comes down to Lundell, who scored, earning a 2-1 win for the Cats.