Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Coaching staff ’s big decisions help lift Florida past San Jose
A trio of coaching decisions by Florida Panthers coach Bob Boughner paid big dividends for his team in a 2-0 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
Boughner, in his first year coaching the Panthers after two seasons as an assistant in San Jose, won two coach’s challenges that took two Sharks goals off the scoreboard. He also juggled his lines to heat up some secondary scoring.
The victory gave Florida three wins in its past four games after a five-game losing streak.
Boughner’s first move came with about five minutes left in the first period. The Panthers opened the game with Vincent Trocheck centering Dryden Hunt and Radim Vrbata on the second line. But they struggled to find a rhythm early, and after six shifts together, were split up.
Boughner elevated Connor Brickley to left wing on the second line with Colton Sceviour moving to Trocheck’s right. Vrbata joined the third line with Jamie McGinn and Nick Bjugstad. Hunt occupied the fourth with Chase Balisy and Micheal Haley.
“I didn’t like Trocheck’s line the first five or six minutes,” Boughner told reporters in San Jose on Thursday night. “I thought they weren’t jelling, and they weren’t having any zone time. There’s too many turnovers.”
The retooled second line put the Panthers on the board just one minute into the second period, when Sceviour won a battle behind the net and jammed home a wraparound on San Jose goaltender Martin Jones.
The mixed-up third line scored an insurance goal in the third with a pair of nifty passes and a solid finish from Bjugstad. Vrbata forced a San Jose turnover, then recovered the puck in the corner before whirling a pass to McGinn. McGinn spun a pass out front to Bjugstad, who notched his fourth goal of the season.
For the first time all season, the Panthers (7-9-2, 16 points) won a game without any points from their top line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov.
Trailing 1-0 in the second period, the Sharks appeared to net the equalizer when defenseman Tim Heed stepped into a slap shot from the blue line that beat Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo. But the Panthers’ coaching staff thought the puck exited the zone before Heed’s blast, putting the Sharks offside.
Boughner, with help from video coach Ben Cooper and goaltending coach Robb Tallas, challenged the play for offside. This year, losing an offside challenge carries heavy consequences. Not only does the goal count, but you are also assessed a minor penalty if you’re wrong.
The goal was overturned, and the Panthers held onto their lead.
“I knew it was offside so I let it go in,” Luongo joked after the game.
The second challenge came with the Sharks on the power play 5:16 into the third period. After Luongo stopped a shot and attempted to cover the rebound, a wave of sticks descended on the crease, dislodging the goal and pushing both Luongo’s leg and the puck into the net. It was called a goal on the ice.
Luongo instantly pleaded his case to the officials before Boughner challenged the call. That goal was also overturned.
Luongo made 35 saves for his 74th career shutout. Since returning from a right hand injury that sidelined him for two weeks, Luongo has been dominant. He’s posted a .943 save percentage and 2.17 goals against average.