The Florida Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions, will finish their disappointing five-game homestand on Friday night when they play the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sunrise, Florida.
This game will be the second of a back-to-back for Florida, which lost 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. With that defeat, the Panthers’ record on the homestand dropped to 1-3-0. They had previously lost 4-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens, but managed to beat the New York Rangers 5-3 on Monday.
The loss to the Hurricanes was particularly tough because the Panthers wasted a great performance by goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The 36-year-old stopped 36 shots after giving up a goal to Brent Burns just 35 seconds into the game.
However, with 7:30 left in the game, Jaccob Slavin scored a controversial game-winning goal.
Slavin’s goal came after Carolina’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi collided with Bobrovsky. Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk reacted by pinning Kotkaniemi to the ice. A shot by Sean Walker hit both Bobrovsky and Kotkaniemi in the crease, and the puck went straight to Slavin, who scored from the left circle.
Bobrovsky, who finished with 37 saves on 39 shots, argued that the goal should have been disallowed due to goalie interference. However, the goal stood because the officials ruled that Tkachuk had prevented Kotkaniemi from leaving the crease after the collision.
“It (stinks),” said Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling. “Bob had an unreal game, and then to see that goal, whatever. We’re not going to complain about it, but it is what it is.”
Florida coach Paul Maurice chose not to challenge the goal for interference. “The referee announced his decision at the time he called the goal,” Maurice said. “He felt the player had been held in, so there was no point in the challenge.”
Carolina sealed the win with an empty-net goal by Martin Necas in the final minute.
“Bob’s a good pro,” Maurice said. “He’s had a lot of nights where he’s been the difference for us. Tough one tonight for him, but he played very well so he gets to come to the rink proud (Friday).”
The Penguins come into this game after a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on New Year’s Eve, marking their 13th loss in 19 road games (6-10-3). Drew O’Connor scored both goals for Pittsburgh, marking his second career two-goal game. He also scored twice in a 7-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 23, 2021, and ended a 32-game goal drought, bringing his season total to five.
“I told him before the game that his last game was the best he had played in months,” said Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan. “I said if he continued to play like that, he was going to score, so I was happy that he was able to break through.”
This will be the second of three meetings between the teams this season. The Penguins won the first matchup 5-4 in overtime on Dec. 3 in Pittsburgh, despite blowing a three-goal lead in the third period. Bryan Rust scored the overtime goal.
