It was expected that the Panthers would be tanking at this point in the season to ensure that they get their first-round pick back. Apparently, no one told the team that, as they’ve now won three straight games against Eastern Conference Teams, granted, Columbus did get an overtime point out of this one. Another new Cat had his debut with the team, Bobrovsky has been a brick wall since the Olympic Break, and the Sam’s Club was as good as they’ve been all season. Do Panther fans dare to hope that they do the impossible down the stretch? Maybe. As Brad Marchand said during last year’s playoffs, “Belief is a dangerous thing, and we had that.” There’s no quit in the team, and with the goaltending having been more consistent over the last handful of games, perhaps they can do something special, but they’ll need a miracle to make the playoffs.
Family Ties:
Welcome to the show, Mike Benning. He got the call-up from the Checkers while Uvis Balinskis was unavailable and filled in on the 2nd pair with Mikkola. There’s been some cool family stories with the Panthers this season, most notably the Bobrovsky/Tarasov story, but Benning adds another one to the list. Mike’s father, Brian, was part of the 1993-1994 inaugural Florida Panthers team, and he was able to make it down from Edmonton to see his son make his NHL debut. They are the third father-son duo to play for the Panthers, joining Casey & Tom Fitzgerald and Reily & Cory Stillman. Benning played a solid game for the Cats with 16:49 TOI, 1 block, and 1 hit. The xGF% at 5-on-5 was 50.12, which was 3rd best on the Panthers. HC Paul Maurice spoke highly of Benning in his post-game interview, highlighting his quick puck movement, decision-making skills, and defensive play. Maurice opted to put Benning out on the power play during OT, where his first pass set up the eventual game-winner by Sam Reinhart for his first NHL point. Marice said, “Right guy to be on the power play at the end, just a good pass and because of it we were able to one-touch it over to Sam. Really happy for him.” Benning echoed Hinostroza’s sentiment from last game about how welcoming the guys in the locker room have been when he talked to the media.
Vintage:
Since the trade deadline, Bobrovsky has been nails for the Panthers. The team and HC Paul Maurice credited him with keeping them in the game and getting them to the third period, where they were able to tie the game and eventually win in overtime. In his last 3 games, he’s gone 2-1-0 with 1.67 GAA and a .945 SV%. It’s probably a weight off his shoulders that the deadline has passed and there aren’t any more questions for the time being about whether he’ll be with the Cats or not. He said in his postgame, “I want to be here. I love the team. I love the fans. I love the organization. I love the guys. I love everything. Yeah, I want to stay here.” Bob was busy early and often in the first period with the Panthers getting outshot 3-14 by the Blue Jackets. He made a trio of huge saves at the end of the period to keep things scoreless through the first twenty minutes. The second was at least a bit more even, as Florida was only outshot 7-10, although they found themselves down a goal after Frantilli opened the scoring. HC Paul Maurice credited Bobrovsky with being the difference maker and the reason why they were able to get to the third period and stage a comeback. Reinhart said that the team thinks Bob still has plenty left in the tank, and there’s plenty of belief in him. Bob ended the night with a .968 SV% and stopped 30 of 31 shots, earning the second star of the game honors.
Sam’s Club Takeover:
When in doubt, trust in the Florida Sams. Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart both scored to secure the 2-1 win. Bennett’s goal also had a Reinhart assist and a Mackie Samoskevich assist for an all-Sams goal. Both goals scored were on the power play; Bennett’s came early in the 3rd period. Reinhart broke into the zone, passing to Samoskevich, who then passed it back to Samson down low. Reinhart took the initial shot, and Bennett was net front to clean up the rebound, tying the game. Bennett is on pace for a career year after having a career year last season. Tkachuk drew a penalty in overtime as he was tripped on a breakaway by Fantilli. Benning made a cross-ice pass to Tkachuk, who then threw the puck back cross-ice, through traffic, and down low to Reinhart. Samson had time to get enough of an angle to send his shot in just under the crossbar for the win. Even when he’s not in his usual power play position in the slot, Sam Reinhart is still extremely dangerous on the man advantage. His goal moved him past Olli Jokinen for 3rd most goals in franchise history at 189, something he’s achieved in just five seasons with the Panthers. Reinhart’s 9 goals back from tying Jonathan Huberdeau, but he’s 97 goals away from chasing down Barkov as the franchise’s leading goal scorer. This was a good, quick 2-game stint at home before they head out west for their Western Canadian trip.
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