New York’s
left the ice with a shutout on 22 Florida shots, but no one was more impressive Tuesday than the Panthers’
, whose 32 saves – while seemingly a conservative number – were of the eye-popping variety, lending credence once more to the soon-to-be-UFA goaltender’s value to his club. Sequences like that depicted in the video above are illustrative of how most of the evening went down; extra props to Tvo’s defensive partners in allowing him to see most of the shots directed his way, while quickly clearing potentially hazardous rebounds from the crease. Despite 17 second-period SOG, this was a solid team effort behind the blueline.Up front was another matter, one we’ve grown sadly accustomed to throughout the year: the forwards couldn’t score. What few pucks the Florida offense did squeeze past a stingy Rangers “D” were generally easily played by Lundqvist, who is quite simply not going to surrender softies. Further, this guy owns the Cats, having gone 12-6-1 with a lifetime 1.80/.940…oh, and 5 shutouts. FWIW, those 5 SOs tie his career high against New Jersey, a club he sees far more often than the Panthers.
Notes: Scorer (NYR) – Brandon Dubinsky (22); assists – Ryan Callahan, Artem Anisimov. FLA received no power play opportunities, though did kill off their only short-handed situation. Jack Skille led in SOG with 5, Steve Bernier was runner-up with 4. Dmitry Kulikov had 5 hits, 3 shots. No shots on goal for forwards Ryan Carter, Evgeni Dadonov, Darcy Hordichuk, Shawn Matthias, and Michal Repik, though Carter was 8-3 on faceoffs. Marty Reasoner imrpoved on that number by going 11-4; FLA finished the night with a 31-20 advantage in that category, as well as hits (33-32). Both clubs blocked 13 shots. Steven Weiss (leg) did not play. Former Cat Bryan McCabe finished with 1 SOG, 1 hit, 1 blocked shot in 17 shifts. David Booth (-1) had 1 SOG. More from our pals at Blueshirt Banter here.
Next up: tonight from Chicago, 8:30 pm. Live Game Thread at 8.