When you think of the Lightning vs. the Panthers, what do you feel? You probably expect a very physical battle with its fair share of offensive fireworks. Well, tonight they decided none of that was in the cards.
After a hard hitting, spirited 5-4 victory for Florida Saturday night, Monday’s game lacked any of that which was anticipated in this rematch.
Statistically and aesthetically the Panthers had no business winning this game.
After being thoroughly outshot and outplayed, the obvious story for the Panthers was an offense that was completely out of sync, making routine plays and passes look extremely difficult.
“It wasn’t pretty but I feel a lot better tomorrow when we get two points in the standings,… said head coach Gerard Gallant. “We didn’t create a whole lot, weren’t sharp, and didn’t execute. Completely opposite of the night before. Tampa played a good strong game. They worked hard and probably deserved a better fate but Luongo was outstanding tonight and made some great, great saves. He was the difference in the game. I think the hockey gods took care of us because we finally got one of those games we deserved but didn’t deserve."
Unlike Saturday’s tilt in Tampa, Roberto Luongo was extremely sharp and was the only reason the Panthers were in the game at all. When any team is outshot 39-19, chances of victory are slim to none.
But Luongo stopped all 39 shots for a 1-0 victory and his first shutout of the season. It was another badly needed win for Florida, who have struggled mightily with the Lightning over the last several years. Winning both games against them in two days might be just what this team needs to truly break out of their slump.
“I haven’t been too happy with how I have played the last few games, so it was nice to give the guys a good performance,… said Luongo. “Tonight felt more like a playoff game. Not a lot of room out there. It took a nice shot with a lucky bounce at the end to go our way to get a big, big win in regulation."
The offense simply didn’t have it going tonight from top to bottom. Developing scoring chances constantly broke down because of bad or too many passes.
Jonathan Huberdeau is a player that needs to become a shoot-first player, yet he passed up on several grade A chances looking for the perfect pass instead. For this team to get the offense going, Huberdeau is a vital part of the remedy…by scoring. They need to eradicate playing “cute… immediately.
Sasha Barkov returned tonight after missing 10 games with a hand injury, and got better as the game wore on. But he was uncharacteristically destroyed in the face-off circle for most of the night. Perhaps this is the one part of his game that may suffer a little bit until he is 100% healed.
When it was all on the line with under a minute left, Aaron Ekblad came through for the second time in as many games with a late goal. On Saturday, his goal with 30 seconds left tied the game which later resulted in a Panthers shootout win.
Tonight with 21 seconds left in regulation he somehow got a puck through a sea of humanity and had his wrist shot deflect off of Victor Hedman’s leg and over Tampa goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s right shoulder. It was the kind of break that had been going against these Panthers for a few weeks.
“Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky,… Ekblad said. “I had good screens in front. Just lucky. Cant say anything else. I can’t believe that happened."
With a few days off before Anaheim comes to town, there will certainly be some good mojo around this team as they try to shake off the funk from the last 2-3 weeks.
Ekblad can’t believe it. The fans probably can’t believe it. But lo and behold the Panthers are on a 2-game win streak with the next 4 games at home.
Dan Spiegel Florida Panthers Media