The Rat Trick
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Ellis Leads Panthers to Point; Cats Lose in Shootout

By Ethan Goldsmith

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Less than 48 hours after the Florida Panthers 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs, the Panthers were at it again.  With Dan Ellis as the starting netminder, and multiple players out with the flu, the Panthers were in for a tough battle against the Dallas Stars.  Down by two points to the Boston Bruins for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, this was a huge game for the Panthers.

It started 2:33 into the first period when Jonathan Huberdeau turned the puck over at the Defensive blue line, and the Stars pounced on it, very shortly after it was Curtis McKenzie who tipped it past Ellis.

Later on in the period, Shawn Horcoff came in on a 2-on-1 and went for a cross-crease pass, but it hit the stick of Panthers D-man Brian Campbell and deflected off the post and past Ellis at 12:41.  The Panthers had only a couple shots on goal at that time and Coach Gerard Gallant called timeout.  The energy picked up from there and Brandon Pirri got the Panthers on the board with exactly three minutes left in the frame.

The second period was all Panthers.

According to Ellis “The Panthers had a bit of a talking to after that first period”, and it sure showed.  The Panthers were putting everything towards the net, and at 8:15 Dimitry Kulikov found himself on a breakaway fresh out of the penalty box, he fired high, the puck hit Goalie Kari Lehtonen and bounced past him and into the net for the tie.  Just over four minutes later, Jonathan Huberdeau rushed in and shot 5-hole and beat Lehtonen to give the Panthers the lead.  Lehtonen was pulled at that point and Jonas Enroth came into the game.

The third period, the momentum switched back towards Dallas, they threw shots on Ellis whenever they could, and at 12:21 Alex Goligoski wristed one from the point and it beat Ellis after it hit a body in front.  The Panthers were outshot 8-2 in the period and the result showed it.  Overtime led to a few chances both ways, Dallas had a near 2-on-0 which they failed to convert and Steven Kampfer was left alone in front but was robbed by Enroth.  The shootout saw the first five players fail to score, but Colton Sceviour beat Dan Ellis with a nifty backhand move for the win.

Spotlight Player of the Game

Dan Ellis comes up from San Antonio and battled hard to earn the Panthers a crucial point to keep pace with Boston.  Ellis stopped 29 of 32 and two goals were deflections.  Not bad for your third-string goalie.  Ellis will get the nod in the Panthers next game.

The Rat Trick

1).  Blocked shots.  The Panthers had 20 blocked shots in this game, Brian Campbell led the way with six, Nick Bjugstad and Steven Kampfer each had three.

2). Kuli’s Gordie.  A Gordie Howe Hat Trick is when a player has a goal, assist and fight in the same game.  Many may remember just a few weeks ago, Dimitry Kulikov took out Tyler Seguin with a dangerous, low hip-check that put Seguin out of commission for an extended period of time with a knee injury.  After the Stars morning skate, one player called the hit “gutless” and during pregame warmups, Stars forward Curtis McKenzie had a chat with Kulikov, which was interrupted by Shawn Thornton.  At 12:24 of the first period, Kulikov and McKenzie fought.  In the second, Kulikov scored a goal out of the penalty box, and he got the second assist on Jonathan Huberdeau’s tally.

3).  Schlemko, Flames down Bruins. The Boston Bruins matched up with the Calgary Flames in a huge game for both teams.  The Flames blew a 3-2 lead in the third but claimed victory in the shootout.  David Sclemko, a recent waiver pickup by the Flames, scored an absolute beauty to win the game.  With both Florida and Boston losing in shootouts, the Panthers remain only two points out of the final playoff spot.

What’s Next

The Panthers will try to rebound on Saturday when the New York Islanders come to town.  The night will be PanthersPalooza, where Panthers fans all have the chance to get together and enjoy a game among the company of each other.  According to Panthers Co-Owner Doug Cifu, the Panthers will donate money to charity, up to $25,000, for every time the hashtag #PanthersPalooza is used.  This will be game six of the Panthers seven-game homestand.

More from The Rat Trick

Even through all the adversity, with having two different goalies from the last game, having Willie Mitchell, Erik Gudbranson and Jaromir Jagr all listed as late scratches with flu-like symptoms, others playing sick and being outplayed for much of this game, the words of Dimiry Kulikov sum up this game best for the Panthers.

“We needed to win”.

The Panthers will have the Chance to do just that on Saturday.

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