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Florida Panthers Drop Another Crucial Game; Fall To Carolina Hurricanes In Final Minutes

By Zachary Korcok

Mar 7, 2017; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers goalie Reto Berra (20) in the second period of a game against the New York Rangers at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2017; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers goalie Reto Berra (20) in the second period of a game against the New York Rangers at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports /
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After coming off a 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Panthers looked to rebound versus a weak Carolina Hurricanes team. Yet again, they dropped an extremely crucial game, like they have been all season.

Coming into this game, it looked like the Panthers would rebound after a tough loss to the Penguins. Their best defenseman in Aaron Ekblad returned after missing 5 games thanks to a concussion, and they were playing a weak Carolina Hurricanes team. Not to mention, the Panthers have been very good against Carolina at home in recent memory.

It started off well, as just about 3 minutes in, Jason Demers fired a low shot from the point that was tipped by Alexander Barkov past Cam Ward to make it 1-0 Florida.

One thing to note is that the Barkov goal was his 20th of the season, which is very good considering how much time of the 2016-17 campaign he’s missed.

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Things would shortly get worse though, as just about 3 1/2 minutes later, the Canes would capitalize on the power play. After a shot that went wide of Reto Berra took a weird bounce off the back-boards, Teuvo Teravinen was able to bank the puck in the net off of Berra’s back to make it 1-1.

The Panthers would re-gain the lead soon though, as Jussi Jokinen was able to fight off a Carolina defenseman and throw it in tony of the net, and it went in and past Cam Ward off of Reilly Smith to make it 2-1 Panthers.

That lead wouldn’t last long , though, as Carolina would soon tie it up again as Sebastian Aho would slip a backhand past Reto Berra to make it 2-2 after a complete defensive breakdown by the Panthers. That 2-2 tie would remain the same for the rest of the 1st period.

The Panthers would yet again jump out to a lead, as about 1 1/2 minutes into the second period, Keith Yandle just threw the puck into traffic in front of the net and it took a lucky bounce past Cam Ward to make it 3-2.

But YET AGAIN, the Panthers would choke away their lead. Not even 30 seconds later, after Lee Stepniak was stopped on a partial break, the Panthers failed to clear the puck from the crease, and Jeff Skinner gilded in and stuffed home the rebound to make it a tie game, 3-3.

That score would hold up until about 4 minutes left in the 3rd period, when Derek Ryan threw a nice saucer pass over a sprawling Mike Matheson to Jeff Skinner who one-timed a soft shot that just squeaked past Berra. It would be Skinner’s second of the game, and made it 4-3 Carolina.

The Panthers wouldn’t be able to tie the game, and the 4-3 score held up as Panthers fans let out a sigh of disappointment and disgust.

This game keeps the Panthers 8 points out of a playoff spot, and only 10 games remain. The Panthers are basically eliminated at this point, barring some incredible 10 game win streak.

Florida’s next game is on Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes at the BB&T Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

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