Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers blanked the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 at Rogers Place to snap a two-game skid.
Bobrovsky stopped all 21 shots faced to join Roberto Luongo (38) and Tomas Voukon (23) as the only goalers in franchise history to record 20 shutouts.
The Panthers delivered a near-perfect first period of road hockey, outchancing the Oilers 14-4, and put two goals on the board to establish firm control.
Cole Reinhardt notched his first as a Cat when Mike Benning sent him in on Connor Ingram and he finished with a surprisingly beautiful backhand-to-forehead move at 11:12 with Evan Bouchard in hot pursuit.
Florida doubled its advantage with 58 seconds remaining in the frame when Evan Rodrigues fed Benning at the right point and the rookie defenseman put a low shot towards the goal that was redirected home by A.J. Greer.
Rodrigues would pick up his second helper of the night when he combined with Sam Bennett to set up Anton Lundell’s 18th of the campaign, which came with Vasily Podkolzin serving a delaying the game penalty. Lundell beat Ingram’s glove with a rising wrister from the slot.
Carter Verhaeghe completed the scoring with 4:37 left in the third and became the fourth Panther to reach the 20-goal mark this season when he blistered Matthew Tkachuk’s pass past Ingram after a Bennett face-off win in the left circle.
After poorly played losses in Seattle and Vancouver, the Cats got back to their brand of hockey to split the season-series with the hated Oilers, limiting NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid to a single shot on Bobrovsky in the process. They’ll get right back at it tonight when they face a fellow also-ran in the Calgary Flames.
The Five Hole
- Hometown boy Mike Benning earned the First Star for producing the first multi-point game of his young career. Benning has collected three assists in four games since being recalled from Charlotte on March 12.
- With his first helper of the game, Sam Bennett set new career-highs in assists (27) and points (52). He added to those totals in the third period.
- Second Star Sergei Bobrovsky posted his fourth shutout of the season. It was Bobrovksy’s 53rd career shutout, which tied him with Jaroslav Halak for 26th most all-time.
- Carter Verhaeghe’s marker gave him five consecutive seasons with 20 or more goals. Verhaeghe, who matched Matthew Savoie with a game-high four shots, has points in four of his last five games.
- Matthew Tkachuk has played 14 games since returning to the lineup on January 19. He has gotten on the score sheet in ten of those tilts.
Stat Card
