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The Florida Panthers Struggles Continue; Drop Third Straight At Home

By Joey Bailey

Feb 26, 2017; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers goalie James Reimer (34) makes a glove save from Ottawa Senators left wing Ryan Dzingel (18) during the second period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2017; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers goalie James Reimer (34) makes a glove save from Ottawa Senators left wing Ryan Dzingel (18) during the second period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sunday night the Florida Panthers missed out on another big 2 points. A 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators that might prove very crucial in a tight Atlantic Division race. The winning ways the Cats found on the recent road trip seem to all be a distant memory. 

Before both teams took the ice tonight the Panthers trailed the Senators by 4 points in the standings, the Sens with a game in hand. In a match up that could definitely had been coined a “Must Win” the Cats came up short, they’ve ultimately fallen victim to not playing their own game this home stand.

It was a game of missed opportunities for the Panthers from the get go, not to discredit first star of the game Craig Anderson who stood on his head. After failing to convert early and on a few grade A power play chances, the Cats surrendered a short handed goal on the break to Zack Smith off an Erik Karlsson rebound at 6:28 in the first period. Jonathan Marchessault went on to knot things up at 1 on a beautifully set up power play goal about 10 minutes later.

That would stand as the Panthers only goal, proceeding to go 0/4 on the power play for the rest of the game. It seemed that every time the Cats had Anderson beat, the post or crossbar was there to make the save. Kyle Turris would score the game winning goal for the Senators at 9:58 in the 2nd on a nice feed from Mike Hoffman.

Tensions definitely ran high in this game from the beginning, as expected for divisional foes. Shawn Thornton had a big enforcer night with 3 fights and 24 PIM. Standing up for his teammates Colton Sceviour, Jaromir Jagr and making Dion Phaneuf turtle along the way. Frustrated Reilly Smith also got into a scrap late in the game but Ryan Dzingel got the best of him.

The Panthers are not out of it yet, but they definitely need to find some consistency if they want to make a real push. We’ve all been saying it, night in and night out you never know what team will show up, and that needs to change. A move for a power play specialist forward might be just the spark this team is missing, we’ll see what happens before the deadline.

Next game: Tuesday Vs. Carolina 7:30

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