Florida Panthers Close Out The Season On The Right Note

The Florida Panthers won their last game of the season against the President Trophy winners, the Washington Capitals.

To begin, the Panthers did not beat the “real” Washington Capitals tonight. The Caps pretty much took the night off, as they wanted to keep their players fresh for the playoffs. To end the season, the Cats gave us something we didn’t see much of this year (winning).

The first period was dry and pretty much boring. There was little to no action in the first, as both teams didn’t create any scoring chances at all. Tonight was going to be another “one of those” games, where they’d be long and boring.

Finally, in the second period,

Derek MacKenzie

scored the first goal of the game short-handed. The goal itself was actually impressive, seeing he took the puck from our own zone, and bolted down to Caps territory only to blast it by

Grubauer

. Let’s relive the goal down below. Personally, I think this was Derek’s best goal of the season.

The Panthers went into the 2nd intermission one goal up. With about ten minutes left into the third period, Denis Malgin scored his 6th goal on the year and put the Cats up 2-0. By the way the Capitals were playing, it seemed as if the Cats would pull through on this one, with a win.

The game ended 2-0 in favor of the Panthers, and I’m glad the Cats could end the season off with a win. This season wasn’t only tough to the players, but also to the fans as well. Going into this year, high expectations were put on this team going forward. Unfortunately, losing three crucial forwards (Huberdeau, Barkov, Bjugstad) for an extend period of time did not help matters.

The biggest concern was the firing of Gerard Gallant during the loss in Carolina. Losing our coach was a clear killer for the players. The core group of guys made special connections with Gallant both on and off the ice. Gallant was never a “high profiled guy”, but what he did well was getting the attention of our young guys, and making them play to their full potential. This is what we clearly saw last season.

More from The Rat Trick

Going into the off-season, it’s clear that this summer will be one of the most important off-seasons in Panthers history. Depending on what we do this summer, will ultimately determine whether or not we have a shot at making the playoffs again. As I said before, the group of guys that we currently have are good enough to make the post-season. What the players need is an experienced coach, who will help them reach the next level. Kind of like what Gallant did here.

Too start the off-season, the Cats will wait to see where our draft pick will land come April 29th at the Draft Lottery. Depending on where we land could also determine whether we keep the pick or trade it. After the Draft Lottery comes the Expansion Draft. This is by far the most important draft between the two. The Panthers will lose a player and will need to consider all options before making their decision. I will get into all of that in another article.

Thank you to all the Panther fans who made it a remarkable year. Despite missing the playoffs. I have no doubt that as long as management make the right choices this summer then I really don’t see why we won’t be back in the playoffs. Stay tuned for more content over the summer leading into the Entry Draft, Expansion Draft, and Free Agency.

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