The Florida Panthers were probably glad to get out of western Pennsylvania after Tuesday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Florida came out strong, they stayed out of the penalty box and were the more aggressive team in more ways than one, but ultimately, the Panthers were not the team that left PPG Paints Arena with two points.
Instead, it was the Penguins skating to a 5-4 overtime victory that nearly wasn’t thanks to a furious third period comeback attempt by the visiting Panthers.
Let’s get to Tuesday’s takeaways:
AN ODD GAME
Watching that game, you’d be hard pressed to find significant portions that you could say belonged to Pittsburgh.
Some good shifts here and there, sure, but overall that game belonged to Florida.
Except, you know, on the scoreboard. Where it counts.
But yay for moral victories and whatnot.
“I’m not sure how I feel about that one,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “We gave up five shots a period, but still down 4-1. I like the fact that the bench didn’t change, they felt alright about their game in terms of us getting going in the right direction. We put up a bunch and didn’t give up a whole lot, but you don’t like to lose.”
SOMETHING WAS OFF WITH FLORIDA
Clearly the Cats still had much of their game, as they controlled puck possession, zone time and shot opportunities.
It wasn’t that Pens’ goalie Tristian Jarry stole the game for Pittsburgh.
Yes, the Panthers had the puck a lot and yes, they put a lot of rubber toward Jarry, but it still felt like Florida left a good amount on the table.
There were other things that you can point the finger at (we’ll get to that in a second), but ultimately, the Panthers know there was something missing from their game on Tuesday.
“I don’t think that there was the frustration where you think you’re right there and things aren’t going your way,” Maurice explained. “There’d be some frustration that we don’t really look exactly the way we’re supposed to here tonight, but the shots are 41-16. We weren’t terrible, we just think we can be a little better.”
ROUGH KNIGHT FOR SPENCER
Five goals on 16 shots is a bad game no matter how you shape it up.
Spencer Knight will want to file things one away and move on quickly.
Were there screened goals and tough deflections? Sure.
But this is the NHL, and some of those saves need to be made.
According to Natural Stat Trick, only one of the Penguins five goals was off a high danger shot. Knight’s expected goals against was 1.88.
Maurice was asked to assess Knight’s performance, and he wouldn’t do it.
“I just won’t,” he said. “I’ll think about the shutout on the bus that we had last game, I’ll think about that one.”
LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS – FLORIDA
Comeback Cats force overtime in Pittsburgh, fall 5-4 to Penguins
Predicting which Florida Panthers will be selected for 4 Nations Face-Off
Panthers face Penguins in Pittsburgh as both teams look to extend winning streaks
Maurice: Panthers success depends on team being ’emotionally in tune’
Matthew Tkachuk ignites offense and brings ‘infectious’ energy to Florida Panthers
