The Florida Panthers got a much-needed win to keep up in the Eastern Conference playoff race on Monday. They defeated the Predators 8-3 in a game that saw a lot of breakaways and deflections go in the net. The Panthers showed their offensive might, scoring six or more goals for the third time in six games. While Florida improves to 25 points on the season, Nashville stays at just 16.
Game Recap
The first period started with a flurry of goals. In the first 11 seconds, Florida winger Carter Verhaeghe found A.J. Greer near the slot, and he put it in to make it 1-0. At 5:42, Florida defenseman Uvis Balinskis had a shot saved by Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros, but Florida center Evan Rodrigues potted the rebound in the back of the net to make it 2-0.
Nashville scored two straight, with winger Filip Forsberg sneaking a backhand shot behind Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola at 6:52 and center Fedor Svechkov rebounding a shot from Ozzy Wiesblatt at 10:32. Before you knew it, Nashville and Florida were tied 2-2.
Related: Solving the Predators’ Scoring Problems
The Panthers weren’t finished scoring in the period. Center Jesper Boqvist capitalized on a breakaway at 11:31, and center Sam Bennett intercepted a clearing attempt from Svechkov at 15:46, making it 4-2 by the end of the first period.
The second period, unlike the first, saw just one Florida goal. Gustav Forsling released a wrist shot that went between two players in front and into the net, making it 5-2 at the 1:24 mark of the second.
Nashville showed some fight in the third period. With Florida defenseman Jeff Petry on the bench for tripping at 2:06, the Predators went on the power play, and they capitalized just five seconds in. Nick Blankenberg released a shot from the point that found the goal, and Nashville was just behind 5-3.
However, that’s all the fight the Predators would show the rest of the game (outside of the roughing penalties on Predators’ Luke Evangelista and Panthers’ A.J. Greer at 7:51). Florida proceeded to score three unanswered goals. Greer potted in his second at 4:52 of the third, Sam Reinhart scored on a four-on-four at 8:33, and Verhaeghe cashed in on a breakaway at 12:49 to reach the final score of 8-3.
Key Stats
The Panthers won the game between the pipes tonight. Saros was benched in the middle of the second after giving up five goals on just 16 shots, and his replacement, Justus Annunen, allowed three goals on just 10 shots. Meanwhile, Panthers backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov stopped 36 of 39 shots.
That’s why, despite the Predators leading in shots (39-26), faceoffs (36-27) and hits (25-19), they lost this game handily. The Panthers also had 14 blocked shots to the Predators’ four.
Schedule
Florida improves to 25 points, tying them with the Philadelphia Flyers, who have the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers play the Flyers at home on Nov. 26 before ending the month with the Calgary Flames on Nov. 28.
The Predators, meanwhile, remain the worst team in the NHL, with just 16 points. They end the month with road matchups against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 26 and the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 28 before returning home vs. the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 29.
