The Rat Trick
Fansided

Florida Panthers Drop Crucial Game In Wild Card Race; Shutout By Penguins

By Zachary Korcok

Mar 19, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Tom Kuhnhackl (34) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers left wing Shawn Thornton (22) and center Colton Sceviour (7) chase during the first period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Tom Kuhnhackl (34) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers left wing Shawn Thornton (22) and center Colton Sceviour (7) chase during the first period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Coming off a huge shootout win in New York, the Panthers were looking to draw within 4 points of the Maple Leafs for the 2nd wild card spot. And of course, they lost, as they have done in most crucial games this season.

Things were looking pretty good at first, as the Panthers were playing solid defense and got a few chances, but then with just under 4 minutes left in the first period, Phil Kessel stripped Alex Petrovic of the puck behind James Reimer, and made an incredible play by flipping the puck over Reimer to Patrik Hornqvist who made an even more incredible play by knocking it out of mid air to make it 1-0 Pittsburgh.

Usually, I’m one to blame most of the goals on poor defensive efforts this season, but the Hornqvist goal wasn’t anybody’s fault, as it was just two unbelievable plays that would be difficult for anybody to defend against.

Then in the second, is when things got out of hand. After the Panthers were stopped on a 2-on-1, the Penguins’ top line of Jake Guentzel, Connor Sheary, and, of course, Sidney Crosby, took it down to the ice on a 3-on-2, and gave it to Sidney Crosby, who ripped it glove side on Reimer on an absolute bullet to make it 2-0 Pittsburgh.

Then, about 2 minutes later, Connor Sheary was able to win a board battle, skate to the center of the zone, put a shot on net, and Crosby was able to control it, spin around, and sneak it backhand past Reimer’s glove and blocker.

After a horrible second period, the Panthers came out just as bad in the third. While about 3 Panther players were battling in behind the net, the other 2 got distracted and left, guess who, Crosby all alone in front of the net, who knocked home the one-time from Guentzel past the sprawling Reimer to make it 4-0 and collect the hat trick.

Somehow, the Penguins didn’t score for the rest of the game and the final score was 4-0 Pittsburgh.

Next: Florida Panthers Prospect Profile: Henrik Borgstrom

Analysis

This game was yet another a prime example of how this year’s team fails to capitalize as they could’ve drawn within 4 points of the slumping Leafs. Some people can make the excuse that they played an extremely tough team in Pittsburgh, but there are no more excuses to be made. This season has been a failure, and there is little to no hope left. Sure, they could possibly slip into the wild card if they take advantage of bad teams that they play coming up, but it’s very unlikely. And if they do somehow make the playoffs, they would have to play the high-powered Washington Capitals in the first round.

Next Panthers game is Tuesday against Carolina. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM at the BB&T Center.

Home/Panthers News