Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Home winning streak over
Panthers can’t overcome early two-goal deficit
SUNRISE — The border between owning top-end talent and receiving good fortune is a dangerous one to live on in the final month of the hockey season. Especially when lodged in a playoff race, every miscue is magnified and every slow start could mean missed points in the standings.
In the games leading into Monday night’s 5-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Florida Panthers straddled that line, surviving lackluster openings to continue a hot streak since the All-Star break. They couldn’t do it again on Monday night, losing in front of 11,585 at the BB&T Center.
The Senators scored twice in the first period, digging just the fourth two-goal deficit for Florida in the 20 games since the All-Star break. But the Panthers stormed back, tying the game at 2 in the second period and at 3 in the third, before Senators forward Matt Duchene ultimately won the game with three minutes remaining in the game.
The loss snapped Florida’s franchise-record eight-game home winning streak. It also dropped the Panthers’ record to a still scorching
15-4-1 since the All-Star break. For the Panthers, it was the first loss against a team currently behind them in the standings since Jan. 5 in Detroit.
With Columbus’ win over Montreal on Monday night, the Panthers fell four points behind the Blue Jackets for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are three points behind New Jersey for the second wild card spot.
Duchene’s second goal of the night beat a sprawled out Roberto Luongo and capped a possession in which Ottawa had the Panthers defense scrambling.
Evegnii Dadonov scored his 22nd goal of the season, a top corner snipe after speeding out of the defensive zone. For Dadonov, the goal was his ninth one off the rush since the All-Star break. Only one other Panther (Aleksander Barkov’s 10 goals) has more overall goals since the break than Dadonov has off the rush.
Mike Matheson tied the game with 2:32 left in the second period by burying a feed from Vincent Trocheck past Senators goaltender Craig Anderson. Panthers forward Frank Vatrano didn’t appear on the scoresheet for goal, but screening Anderson in front of the net, then dodged the puck by jumping.
Dadonov and Matheson’s goals were part of a resurgent second period for the Panthers in which they outshot the Senators 17-2. Ottawa did not even register a shot on goal until 13:41 passed in the period.
The Senators only attempted nine shots in the period. The Panthers attempted 35.
In games against Montreal and the New York Rangers on this homestand, the Panthers needed late power-play goals to escape the first periods with leads. They counted on Roberto Luongo to make key saves as the team emerged from an earlygame slumber.
“Let’s face it,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. “We were lucky last game in the first period that we scored a power-play goal. Obviously, our power play’s been good and they’ve scored some important goals, but it could have easily been 1 or 2-0 New York if it wasn’t for Lu. We know that.”
On Monday, Ottawa capitalized on its early chances. Duchene struck just 57 seconds into the first period for his 20th goal of the season, before he later won the game with his 21st.
Magnus Paajarvi scored the first of two goals Monday night with less than five minutes left in the first by deflecting a Fredrik Claesson shot past Luongo. He scored again on a rebound just 43 seconds into the third period.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored his 23rd goal of the season when a Trocheck pass bounced off Huberdeau’s left skate and into the Ottawa goal.
The Panthers last loss at home was Feb. 9 against Los Angeles and the team has not lost back-to-back home games since early December.