Just the response and type of win the Panthers needed after getting blown out against the Rangers. The Cats snap the Avalanche’s 10-game win streak with a gritty 2-1 win to cap off this homestand. Seth Jones is currently listed as day-to-day but will be evaluated again on Monday per the update from HC Paul Maurice. Daniil Tarasov put on a show against the Avs. The defense stepped up after a disappointing showing in the Winter Classic, and two big goals from two big players earned Florida the win. An update from Tkachuk at first intermission revealed that he’s joining the team on the road trip and will have at least one more practice in the non-contact jersey. He could rejoin the lineup towards the end of the six-game road trip if everything goes well. 

Tara-Star:

Tarasov continues to be an outstanding backup goalie for the Panthers. He was arguably Florida’s best player on the ice and had more than a couple of robbing saves to help the Cats earn the win. His biggest ones of the night came late in the third period when Colorado pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. The one that’ll be on most people’s minds is the save he made in the dying seconds of the match on MacKinnon. A Lundell faceoff win would seal the result after that. But the entire game, he was outstanding, posting a .964 SV%, stopping 27 of 28 shots.

The only goal allowed was redirected right over his glove hand. His positioning to shooters was stellar all night, as was his puck tracking. It was a confidence builder and a great rebound after what happened in the Montreal game. As well as being a nice little revenge win after what happened when the Cats played in Colorado last month, when Daniil was also in net. HC Paul Maurice said after the game, “He had played such an exceptional game for us against Montreal, and one got away from him. So it’s really good. Closed out, that saves important too, so he gets to feel really an important part of what he did…the goalies can be an important player in that, and he was.” Tarasov, like Bob, was quick to credit his teammates for how they played in front of him when it was mentioned that he was only the third goalie to be the Avs in regulation. His fantastic performance earned him first star honors. 

Defensive Rebound & Sportsmanship:

A couple of changes to the back end with Jones out at the moment. Balinskis moved up to the second pair with Mikkola, while Sebrango drew back in to play with Petry. The defensive structure stayed tight all game, and when they needed to shut things down, they did. The PK was a perfect 4/4, and Reinhart had a great shorthanded chance. Bennett said in his postgame, “It was a pretty sound all-around game. We battled hard all night, and we shut it down when we needed to. It was a good effort all around.” Ekblad gave praise to teammate Uvis Balinskis, who played on the second pair, “Balinskis stepped up into a bigger role tonight, played a lot more minutes, and he handled it extremely well.” Although the Avs outshot the Panthers, the Cats were the more physical team, out-hitting Colorado 25-15. Lundell was big in the final period as he went 3/3 in the faceoff dot against MacKinnon in the final minutes of the game. The mood around the game soured a bit when Avalanche Captain Gabe Landeskog went down hard into the Florida net and had to exit the match. Forsling was battling him at the time, but video replay showed no contact from Gustav or his stick when Landeskog went down. It looks to be a freak accident, and MacKinnon told the media that there were some Panthers who asked about how the Colorado Captain was. He confirmed it was an upper-body injury and nothing related to his knee.

Big Goals Big Win:

Two leaders stepped up to score the goals that the Cats needed for the gritty win: Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad. Bennett, in the first period, had a Barkov-esque effort that led to his goal. Verhaeghe got the puck behind the net, where Sam went to work against Malinski. He got the steal and then quickly got to the net front. Wedgewood made the initial save, but Bennett didn’t give up on the play. He picked up his own rebound and then, on his backhand, got the puck across the goal line. The Avs tied it up before the period was over, and things stood at 1-1 heading into first intermission. Forsling rimmed the puck hard in the second period as the Lundell line was getting on the ice. The puck nearly left the zone, but Ekblad was able to keep it in. With Reinhart standing stock still as a screen, Aaron worked around the defense and had plenty of time and space to pick his shot. His slapshot went in top shelf on the far side as he shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Ekblad, in his postgame, described the match as “a good 2-1 filthy game”. It’s the type of game that the Panthers are comfortable in, low-event hockey that can grind an opponent down. With the additions made last season, the offense has been more high-octane, and they’ve had to score their way out of some problems. But it’s good to see that they still have enough defensive structure in their game to win one this way. After not completing the win against Montreal and no points against the Rangers, Sunday’s game carried a big two points for the standings. The Panthers are still flirting with a wild-card playoff spot at the moment. 

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