Florida Panthers center Shawn Matthias was held without a point and finished with a -1 rating during a 3-1 loss to the Vienna Capitals in Sunday action from Austria’s EBEL. Matthias centered Black Wings Linz’ second line and was flanked again by Gregor Baumgartner and Brett Engelhardt.
After a scoreless opening frame, Vienna’s Adrian Veideman opened the scoring by beating Black Wings goaltender David LeNeveu at the 14:39 mark of the second period. Benoit Gratton and Francois Fortier picked up assists on the even strength goal.
In the third period, Martin Olsson struck twice for the visiting Capitals to extend the lead to 3-0. Olsson’s first goal came at the 1:49 mark and was assisted by Sven Klimbacher and Joshua Soares. The second goal was unassisted and came with 4:29 remaining in the game.
Brett Engelhardt finally solved Matt Zaba with Linz on a late power play to break up the shutout. The goal was Engelhardt’s seventh of the season and was set up by Gregor Baumgartner and Marc-Andre Dorion.
The loss left Linz tied with Alba Volan for sixth place in the EBEL standings. The top six teams in the EBEL automatically qualify for the postseason while the other two playoff spots are filled after a qualifying round between the teams outside of the top six.