Panthers show fight but fall
One-goal loss is the fourth straight on home ice
SUNRISE — The Panthers’ interim coach prefaced Sunday’s rumble with the Ottawa Senators being “as big a game as we’ve had all season long.”
Defenseman Michael Matheson said everyone in the bunched-up Atlantic Division is already in playoff mode with just over 20 games to go.
The playoffs will be a pipedream if the Panthers continue to misfire at the BB & T Center as they did in their fourth consecutive home loss (third since a fivegame road sweep), 2-1 to conclude a split in the four-game season series with Ottawa.
The Panthers had the fighting spirit with Shawn Thornton en- three different Senators in separate bouts, and Reilly Smith fought another. But they couldn’t overcome the premier heavyweight of the evening in Senators goalie Craig Anderson, a long-time nemesis of his former team, now 14-7-2 against them after making 37 saves. “Itwas a four-point game here,” said Jonathan Marchessault, who scored the Panthers goal. “Obvigaging
ously we lost the battle, but it’s not over. We have plenty of games left. It’s time that we get on a role at home.”
Interim coach Tom Rowe pointed out before the game that both teams were coming off losses, “so everybody’s pretty angry. We’ve got to get two points tonight.”
The Panthers had the basis for a bit more desperation, beginning the night two points out of playoff position and trailing the second-place Senators by four points in the division.
An arsenal of anger flowed from Panthers tough guy Thornton, who set a feisty tone with two fights and 19 penalty minutes in the first period alone.
It only took 2 minutes and 1 second before Thornton took exception to Mark Borowiecki hitting Colton Sceviour hard into the boards. Thornton wrestled Borowiecki to the ice in round one of the rock-’em, sock-’em evening.
Two more minor scrums would follow in the first five minutes. After the Panthers went on a power play with Chris Neil off for roughing, Jaromir Jagr briefing locked horns with Dion Phaneuf in front of the Ottawa net.
But the Senators had the perfect response moments later with a shorthanded goal by Zack Smith. Erik Karlsson picked up a loose puck freed from the boards to the middle of the Ottawa zone and initiated a 2-on-1 rush. Karlsson’s shot off James Reimer’s right pad caromed to Smith, who had a wide-open net for an easy lay-in.
Thornton tangled again later in the period, this time getting the better of Phaneuf, who was a reluctant participant. Ottawa got a power play out of it as Thornton received two roughing penalties and a 10-minute misconduct.
But the Panthers were next to cash in on a powerplay chance with some dizzying puck movement. Marchessault scored his 19th goal off a tick-tac-toe sequence from Keith Yandle and Jonathan Huberdeau.
Huberdeau, with his 10th point in 10 games since returning from Achilles tendon surgery, whistled the puck across ice to Marchessault, who had an open look for his third goal in four games. Itwas a continuation of the Panthers’ resurgent power play, which produced three goals in five chances in the previous two games.
But they came up empty on four subsequent power plays.
“We can’t complain about the effort, the effort was unbelievable,” Rowe said.“We had 74 attempted shots. They gave everything they could. Everybody stood up for each other, which I thought was great. We were just unlucky, that’s all.”
Midway through the second period a lapse by the Panthers defense allowed Kyle Turris to skate unimpeded through the right side of the Florida zone and beat Reimer at close range upstairs. The Senators pounced on an opening as defenseman Aaron Ekblad was heading for the bench after exiting the penalty box. Once again, Senators sparkplug Karlsson triggered the oddman rush.
The Panthers nearly got even again on another power-play chance, but Anderson somehow fended off a flurry of point-blank shots, including a remarkable glove save on Reilly Smith.
Anderson stonewalled numerous scoring chances in making the lead hold up.
Reimer (31 saves) did his share in keeping Panthers hopes alive with some key saves in the final period. Mark Stone, returning from a neck injury, thought he had poked in an insurance goal at the end of a three onrush, but a quick whistle benefited the Panthers.