Panthers go with backup goalie over sick, struggling Sergei Bobrovsky against Oilers
The Florida Panthers were without their $70-million goaltender as they tried to get back on track Saturday. Sergei Bobrovsky, who inked a seven-year contract to become the Panthers’ franchise goalie in the offseason, dressed but didn’t start against the Edmonton Oilers in Sunrise. Bobrovsky missed practice Friday with an illness, so Joel Quenneville opted to go with Samuel Montembeault as his starter in net.
“He’s going to play today, but he’s not starting,” the coach said of Bobrovsky. “He’s going to dress, I should say.”
Montembeault also outplayed the superstar starter in Florida’s blowout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. After Bobrovsky allowed three goals on nine shots in the first period, Quenneville turned to Montembault to start the second. Montembeault kept the Flyers off the board for nearly 19 minutes in the second period before he finished with 16 saves and three goals against.
The Panthers were able to cut the lead down to two goals early in the third period in large part because Montembeault stabilized their defensive effort.
“Monty kept us in here for a while there,” Quenneville said Thursday. “We had a little hope in the third with some action there.”
Jayce Hawryluk is also dealing with an illness and not playing Saturday. The winger missed each of the Panthers last two games and last played Monday in a loss in Philadelphia.
Noel Acciari, however, is back in the lineup Saturday after going down with an upper-body injury Thursday. Acciari, who can play both center and right wing, scored and dished out two assists to spark a win against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, playing with two defensemen on Florida’s surprisingly feisty fourth line.
Panthers work on power play
There were no shortage of boos raining down from the BB&T Center crowd Thursday and most were reserved for the ends of period.
Frustration boiled over one other time in particular in the second period. The Panthers got their first and only power play of the game, and it quickly became clear nothing was going to come of it. Florida couldn’t sustain any sort of possession or generate any good shots. The Panthers ended the two-minute opportunity with just one shot on goal and one turnover to stay three goals behind the Flyers.
A day later in Coral Springs, Florida went to work trying to sort out its special teams, particularly its power-play unit.
“We worked on special teams today — some PK, but mostly PP. That was what we were doing out there today,” Quenneville said following practice Friday at the Florida Panthers IceDen. “That part of our team game can help our 5-on-5 game.”
In the eight games after the All-Star break, a strength turned into a weakness for Florida. The Panthers entered the weekend tied for eighth in the NHL in power-play percentage, but went just 2 of 24 in their first eight games after the NHL All-Star Game.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate all year having the power play be a big part of our offense,” Quenneville said. “When it goes a little a dry, it extends.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2020 at 3:00 PM.
