Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Panthers show fight but fall
One-goal loss is the third 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, 2-1 to conclude a split in the fourgame season series with Ottawa.
The Panthers had the fighting spirit with Shawn Thornton engaging three different Senators in separate bouts, and Reilly Smith 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.
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.
It only took two 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 from 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. Jonathan Marchessault scored his 19th goal off a tick-tacktoe 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. It was 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 five subsequent power plays.
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 odd-man 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 tonewalled numerous scoring chances in making the lead hold up.
Reimer 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-on-one rush, but a quick whistle benefited the Panthers.
Reimer then thwarted Mike Hoffman on a breakaway.
But the Panthers never could get the upper hand aside from Thornton’s fisticuffs. Ultimately, Neil, the Senators enforcer, battled Thornton to a draw in a protracted final bout. Then Reilly Smith engaged his opposite number, Ryan Dzingel.
Malgin recalled
The Panthers recalled forward Denis Malgin from their AHL affiliate in Springfield. The 20-year-old Malgin had eight points (four goals) in 39 games for the Panthers earlier in the season.