Florida Panthers get steamrolled by the Dallas Stars 6-1

After last Saturday’s controversial game in Nashville, the Florida Panthers were looking to bounce back in Dallas, ultimately searching for the win.

Net minders James Reimer and Ben Bishop would start in-goal for their respective sides, but only one would come out victorious. Which side would it be?

The game started off pretty evenly, with both teams flying down the ice. Both clubs came out well prepared, knowing that a hard-fought effort would be what it would take to win this game. The energy and motivation seemed to lit a fire for both teams, as players on opposite sides were constantly going at it.

The tussles all started with Keith Yandle and Antoine Roussel, as both went at it once James Reimer went down injured. After the two were finished scrapping, current backup (Harri Sateri) was called upon to fill in for the injured James Reimer. Not a good sign for Florida, a team whose goalie tandems are now out with injuries.

Two minutes after round one, and Micheal Haley and Radek Faksa each went at it. Haley was seen pounding Faksa on the ice with ease, eventually being called for a ‘major’ shortly after. Faksa got off easy, being given only a five-minute major.

Throughout the remainder of the period, penalties were called on Aaron Ekblad (roughing), Tyler Seguin (roughing), Alexander Radulov (roughing), Esa Lindell (high-sticking), Derek MacKenzie (fighting), Radek Faksa (fighting), Dillon Heatherington (fighting and a game misconduct), and Alex Petrovic (fighting, roughing, and a game misconduct). To sum it all up, the penalty box became a party for both clubs!

But the entire outlook of the period changed when Dallas added a goal with under five minutes left. On the power play, Devin Shore tipped home a point shot from John Klingberg, giving his team a one-goal lead:

The Panthers would head to the locker room shortly afterwards, down by a goal. The stars seemed to get the Cats off their game, and instead, pushed them towards taking penalties.

Florida started the second period on the right foot, disciplined, and ready to play from the start of the whistle. They were buzzing around the Stars zone, searching for a break to go their way. Unfortunately, that break wouldn’t go their way, and instead, went Dallas’ way.

Just six minutes into the second period and on the man advantage, the Stars popped in a second. Jamie Benn received a beautiful pass from Alexander Radulov, immediately then taking the puck over to his backhand. Once moving the puck over to his backhand, Jamie was able to move Sateri out of position, and slotted home the game’s second goal:

About three minutes after Benn’s goal and the Stars struck again. This one being their second on the power play, Alexander Radulov tapped in a cross-crease pass from Jason Spezza. For the Cats, things went from bad to worse as they were digging a deeper hole for themselves.

Aaron Ekblad managed to cut the Stars lead down to two, also scoring on the man advantage for Florida. After Malgin took a wrister towards goal, Nick Bjugstad pounced on the loose rebound out in front, poking the puck to an open Ekblad. Aaron was left putting the puck in the empty net, giving his side some life:

Connor Brickley was called for a high-stick just before the end of the second, sending the Stars on the man advantage once again. With only four seconds left in play, Dallas didn’t have enough time to get anything set up, sending both teams into the dressing room.

The Stars man advantage carried over to start the third, but the Cats penalty killing unit successfully managed to kill it off. What the Panthers weren’t able to do, was keep Dallas off the scoreboard.

Just over five minutes in the last frame and Mattias Janmark tripled his side’s lead. After Devin Shore stripped Matheson of the puck, Shore quickly dished out a pass to Klingberg, who then found Janmark open in front of goal. Mattias was left sliding the puck underneath Sateri’s pad, and the rest was history as they say:

Things really went from bad to worse for the Panthers, as Radulov and Pitlick each scored twenty seconds apart from each other, giving Dallas a 6-1 lead.

Despite the rest of the scraps that took place over the course of the third, the Stars managed to hang on to their 6-1 lead, winning by the same score line.

All in all, there’s not much to say, other than the fact that the Panthers were both undisciplined and sloppy in their own zone. Your Florida Panthers are back in action on Thursday, January 25th @ 7:30pm against the Washington Capitals!