Florida Panthers: Best moments from 2017 in Pantherland
By Cal Friedman
February 11th-20th: Sweeping California Road Trip & co.
The road trip from the 2016/17 season was a dreaded one at the time, the team looked very pedestrian and had little spark of contending for a wild card spot. Hope was at a low, and a motivation was needed after being smashed 6-3 at home by the Los Angeles Kings.
The trip started in Nashville against the “to-be” Western Conference champions, in which the Panthers put up seven on Juuse Saros in a penalty-filled affair to get a matinée win. The next game came four days later in a nationally televised game against the Sharks. Another game where goals were aplenty, as Nick Bjugstad won the game in overtime, beating Martin Jones.
The Cats then scored four unanswered in a 4-1 win against Anaheim, with a brilliant steal-and-stash from Jaromir Jagr past John Gibson highlighting the night. The streak hit four after the Panthers got revenge on the LA Kings from a week before with a 3-2 win at the Staples Center, Jonathan Huberdeau’s strike played massive to the win.
Another great finale came in the conclusion of the trip in St. Louis, as Vincent Trocheck put the puck past Jake Allen from the blue line with 2.1 seconds left to play, to beat the buzzer, and the Blues. The win streak put Florida just two points back of a playoff spot, and despite not getting that spot in the end, this was one of the happiest week and a halves that Panthers’ fans had all year.