Florida Panthers pounce the St. Louis Blues 5-2

The Florida Panthers played an aggressive, fast-paced brand of hockey tonight, which ultimately propelled the determined Cats to a decisive 5-2 victory over the previously undefeated St. Louis Blues.

Competing against an incredibly talented roster isn’t considered a simple task, however, the Florida Panthers proved to be unfazed by the offensively potent Blues’ intimidating 4-0 record heading into this particular matchup.

Following a scoreless 1st period in which St. Louis outplayed the Panthers; the powerhouse Blues immediately struck first courtesy of veteran Paul Stastny once the 2nd period began (St. Louis grabbed a commanding 1-0 lead).

The unscathed Panthers were in an incredibly similar position opposing the Bolts, overcoming a 2 goal deficit to become victorious in FLA’s home opener which recently transpired. Florida played exceptionally well while trailing and forced to come from behind. With pressure and intensity continuously mounting, the Cats inevitably bounced back due to Ian McCoshen’s extremely beautiful goal (1st career NHL goal):

Momentum clearly shifted in favor of Florida, as Vincent Trocheck wound up recording a highly unexpected short-handed goal on a breakaway attempt. The Cats continued to relentlessly attack the offensive end, thus resulting in numerous high-quality scoring chances and penalties being drawn by FLA.

The special teams unit gradually continued dominating against the Blues, as youngster Jared McCann eventually potted a goal by casually redirecting the puck while intentionally standing directly in front of the net. McCann’s positioning and hand-eye coordination were outstanding as displayed:

The Cats’ penalty killing unit was undoubtedly phenomenal tonight; as they subsequently killed off a 5 on 3 following the bogus, absolutely horrendous tripping call against FLA. The 2nd period finally concluded with the score remaining 3-1 in favor of the surging Florida Panthers.

The Cats were steamrolling once the 3rd period began, as FLA undeniably appeared to be the team playing with greater desperation and determination (reinvigorated with passion and motivated to finish strong).

Off a tremendous tic-tac-toe passing play from Florida’s 1st line forwards, superstar-caliber d-man Aaron Ekblad wonderfully finished off the extraordinary possession by quickly sniping the puck past Allen in a matter of seconds:

Initially, Aleksander Barkov appeared to score; however, the Cats were unfortunately robbed by the video review referees in Toronto, claiming that the puck didn’t completely cross the goal line(evidence was deemed inconclusive):

However, as play continued on, revitalized Nick Bjugstad surprisingly scored an unbelievable goal(pushing the lead to 5-1 FLA). Nick was flying down the ice, gliding past the defenseman finishing with a wicked wrister; ultimately sealing the deal for Florida on a magnificent offensive performance:

The Blues would later add a consolation goal, cutting the lead down to three (5-2 Cats). At the end of it, the Panthers improved their overall record to 2-1-0 following a sensational ending against the dynamic, juggernaut St. Louis Blues.

Boughner has unquestionably done an incredible job by unlocking/unleashing the true potential of his youngsters and veteran-savvy players. Roberto Luongo, more importantly, moved into a 4th place tie with Curtis Joseph amongst goaltenders with the most wins in the NHL (454 for Luongo).

The ageless wonder was simply fantastic in-goal, stopping pucks and quality scoring opportunities consistently/constantly and preventing the Blues from extending their one-goal lead at the beginning of the scoring affair.

Next: Florida Panthers: Quick review of the opening two games

Your Florida Panthers will be looking to extend their current two-game winning streak versus the defending Stanly Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins this upcoming Saturday.