October 7th: Bob Boughner’s First Win
(Tampa Bay Lightning 4-5 Florida Panthers)
Bob Boughner’s first win came in our home opener this season in a 5-4 win over Tampa Bay. The game prior was a defeat in Tampa by a final score of 5-3, so revenge was in the mind of the Panthers’ organization from players to fans.
The game couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start, Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov struck inside the first five minutes to make it 2-0. Under Tom Rowe, the Panthers were awful at responding to adversity, the morale was always low under him, and a lot of me felt that the Panthers were done for.
The Cats did the exact opposite of what my head thought. They turned on the style and pulled a goal back before the end of the first through Evgenii Dadonov on a rebound at the end of the first, then equalized after Dadonov turned provider to Nick Bjugstad with a pinpoint pass.
Despite Brayden Point’s shot that got through Reimer, the Panthers were so dominant that I was confident we would win. Colton Sceviour, Jared McCann, and Vincent Trocheck chipped in with goals in quick file, and despite a consolation goal from Tyler Johnson, the Cats held on for their first win, and in term, Bob Boughner’s first win as an NHL head coach.