Hidden Game: Canadians beat Panthers in classic rough contest

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I don’t know if it’s because of the cold or because of the foreign country, but something strange is happening to the Florida Panthers across the border.

On this trip alone, the Panthers trailed Toronto 5-1 after two periods on Monday, and although the visiting team rallied with three straight goals, they ultimately lost to the Maple Leafs 6-4. This team was a team we could have played against in the opening game. play off.

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Tuesday night’s game at the Bell Center resulted in another 5-3 loss to the Canadians. Canadian players will play golf in about three weeks. Florida squandered a 2-1 lead in the game.

This season, the Panthers have a record of 3 wins, 5 losses, and 1 draw while playing in Canada. Florida reached the Stanley Cup Final last season and has a similar goal this year.

on the other hand: The Panthers were without Matthew Tkachuk, who is out with an illness, and Carter Verhaig, who was injured against the Leafs. That’s a total of 56 goals from their lineup.

News you need (Part I): Goaltender Anthony Stratz, who started for the visiting team, had a .939 save percentage and was the best road netminder in the NHL this season coming into this game. His save percentage on the night was .872.

News you need (Part II): The last time the Canadiens beat Florida, Carey Price was the goalie.

He likes playing with the Canadiens. University of Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, who scored the team’s second goal, has 25 goals and 47 points in 35 games against Montreal.

What kind of penalty is that?: Two minutes into the game, Canadiens defenseman David Savard took a knee. Evan Rodriguez literally bowed down to him. Savard was rated a trip minor.

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Best dives outside the pool: Eight minutes into the game, Savard slid into the neutral zone and stopped play.

How to avoid backchecking: Josh Anderson essentially allowed an unimpeded pass into the net by Anton Randell for the Panthers’ first goal at 9:16 of the first period.

Momentum, schmomentum: Joel Armia tied the score just 56 seconds later.

Play Pezzetta: Yes, that was the rebound of Michael Pezzetta’s shot that Armia scored.

News you need (Part III): This was Armia’s 11th goal of the season, playing 5-on-5. This placed him second on the team behind Nick Suzuki. Armia would also score one more goal than Cole Caufield in that scenario, despite playing significantly less time.

Night pass: The Panthers’ second goal came from Vladimir Tarasenko to Barkov. It was a gem of a cross-ice, after which Barkov got past defenseman Kaiden Guhr and scored on goaltender Samuel Montembeau.

Best bearhugs outside of the WWE ring: The second half of the opening, Aaron Ekblad and Juraj Slavkowski. Both players received roughing minors.

Operator, connection failure: Brendan Gallagher thought he had scored from a goalmouth scramble early in the second period. This means the play was reviewed and the final decision was made by league officials in Toronto. Initially, referee Eric Furlatt indicated that the puck had crossed the goal line and called it a goal. But after a few seconds, he rescinded the request.

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He must be colorblind: Dmitry Kulikov made a direct pass to Suzuki, and at 5:58 of the second period, Suzuki beat Stolarz from inside the box, tying the score at 2-2.

milestone: Suzuki, who added his second goal on a power play at 12:24 of the second period, now has 32 points and 71 points in 74 games. This is the captain’s first career 70-point season, making him the first Canadiens player to reach that total in the last five seasons. It was also his 67th career multi-point game, which ranks him sixth overall in franchise history. In case you were wondering, Guy Lafleur leads the way with his 119, followed by Stéphane Richet (91).

Old hockey: Both teams combined for 66 penalty minutes, 40 of which were against the visitors. Most of that total came in the third period, including 10-minute fouls against Brandon Montour, Nick Cousins ​​and Gallagher.

Hits of the night: In the third period, Slavkowski and Arbor Shekai made Florida pancakes from Steven Lorenz.

Next time I will refuse the penalty. Not only did the Panthers fail to complete five power plays, they also allowed a shorthanded goal by Jake Evans in the third period. The Canadiens weren’t much better, going 1-for-7.

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News you need (Part IV): Barkov won 14 of 19 matches, mostly against Suzuki, who lost 13 of 18 matches. Meanwhile, Colin White has lost seven of eight games and is still looking for his first point as a Canadian since being claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh 14 games ago. But who’s counting?

They said: “Emotions went up and down,” Evans said. “I thought we had scored, but no, we hung on. It was just the really good team that won.”

“I guess I like those physical games,” said Slavkowski, who received three minor penalties. “Didn’t you see that? I’m trying to keep up with Arbor’s minor penalty. I saw Arbor coming and was already heading there. I’m glad I wasn’t in the middle. I’m enjoying the scrum and everything. That’s part of hockey. The energy level goes up a little bit.”

“I feel good,” said Montembaugh, who had 37 stops and posted a .925 save percentage. “That’s the team that drafted me and I didn’t have that much success until playing against them the last two years. The team also gave me five goals.”

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

twitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1

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