Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad scored unassisted goals and Daniil Tarasov made a game-saving stop on Nathan MacKinnon late in the third period to propel the Florida Panthers to an impressive 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Amerant Bank Arena.
Clad in their 1938 Miami Clippers-inspired Winter Classic uniforms, the Cats survived some early pressure and opened the scoring 6:27 into the tilt when a determined Bennett stole the puck from Sam Malinski, drove to the net and doggedly worked to stuff the puck past Scott Wedgewood.
Shortly after Jeff Petry rang a shot off the cross bar, the Avalanche forged a tie at the 11:51 mark. Brock Nelson dropped to Josh Manson at the right point and his low shot was deflected in by Artturi Lehkonen. Tight piece of work by Lehkonen.
The go-ahead goal came off a turnover in the Colorado end with 1:48 remaining in the second. Martin Necas tried to move the puck up to Lehkonen, but he was harried by the Eetu Luostarinen, who was particularly pesky on this night. Ekblad took possession and skated into the right circle before blowing a slapper by a helpless Wedgewood as Sam Reinhart provided a perfect screen.
Florida put the clamps on the Avalanche in the third period, holding them to five shots. The last of that handful was an extremely dangerous backhander by MacKinnon with ten seconds left on the clock after he was sent streaking in on Tarasov by Nelson following a boneheaded crossing pass attempt by Anton Lundell.
Tarasov made the save and Gustav Forsling swept the biscuit to safety, and after the Cats iced the puck, all that was left was for Lundell to win the final defensive zone draw. Whew!
The Panthers finished the first half of the schedule with a huge victory against the league’s best team in a much-needed palate cleanser after Friday’s disappointing turn at LoanDepot Park. I wouldn’t say this was their best game of the season, but given the circumstances and the opponent, it might’ve been the most satisfying win so far. The Cats will get a heavy dose of games on the road the rest of the way. They’ll start a six-game trip Tuesday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
The Five Hole
- Daniil Tarasov finished with 27 saves in his best outing since joining the Panthers. Tarasov collected his fifth win and was named the game’s First Star.
- Sam Bennett’s game-opening goal extended his point streak to a career-long nine games. Bennett has produced ten points during the streak and 26 in his last 23 games.
- The Panthers ended Colorado’s ten-game winning streak and became just the third team to defeat the Avalanche in regulation this season, joining the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders.
- After producing just one goal in his first 36 games, Aaron Ekblad has scored twice in the last four games. All three of Ekblad’s goals this season have been game-winners.
- Brad Marchand (ten games) and Sam Reinhart (seven games) saw their respective point streaks come to an end.
Stat Card
