After two penalty-filled periods, Panthers play nearly perfect third to rally in San Jose
.JPG "Florida Panthers center Frank Vatrano (77) celebrates with teammates after his overtime goal against San Jose Sharks in an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)")
By the end of the second period Tuesday, the Florida Panthers’ frustrations had finally boiled over. Their night had an emotional beginning — the San Jose Sharks honored Joe Thornton before the game as he returned to the SAP Center for the first time since leaving as a free agent — and a disjointed middle, with seven penalties in the first two periods and an injury scare for Gustav Forsling. They even had to make a late change to their starting lineup, unexpectedly replacing Sergei Bobrovsky with Spencer Knight with Bobrovsky feeling under the weather.
With 33.8 seconds left in the second period, MacKenzie Weegar shouted something from the bench and a referee didn’t like what he heard. He sent Weegar to the penalty box for the second time in seven minutes and the star defenseman responded with a sarcastic round of applause as his Panthers prepared to head into the second intermission down by a goal. Andrew Brunette could feel an avalanche coming, though, and he wound up being right: Florida rallied to beat the Sharks, 3-2, in overtime in San Jose.
“We were frustrated and we lost our composure,” the interim coach said. “We learned and we came out of the second period and realized we had to tighten up.”
After 40 frustrating minutes, the final 21:11 — including 1:11 of 3-on-3 overtime — were a clinic for the top team in the Eastern Conference. After getting outshot 23-16 in the first two periods, the Panthers (41-13-6) outshot the Sharks, 16-3, in the third and 2-0 in overtime before winger Frank Vatrano won the game with 3:49 left in the five-minute session. They stayed out of the box entirely in the third after committing seven penalties in the first two periods and skated past every obstacle they struggled with for the first 40 minutes.
Forsling, whose left knee injury directly led to San Jose’s first goal, came back in the second period and assisted on Vatrano’s game-winning goal in overtime. Knight, who have up two goals on the first eight shots he faced, finished the game with 18 consecutive saves to bounce back and get a win after losing a shootout to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. The Panthers even got a solid performance from a retooled top line with Thornton playing next to star center Aleksander Barkov for the first time on a night 12,276 came out to watch the franchise legend return to San Jose.
The hero, though, was Vatrano, who also scored the game-tying goal with 14:31 left in regulation near the start of Florida’s onslaught after the Sharks (26-25-8) botched a clear and Noel Acciari tapped a perfect centering pass into the slot to tee up his fellow forward for an open look.
“We’ve done it all year long,” Vatrano said. “We got big pressure in the third and we always find a way to win hockey games.”
Periods like the third Tuesday haven’t been unusual for the Panthers this year and this one, in particular, was clearly signposted.
Although San Jose was outshooting Florida through two periods, the Panthers had a 33-18 edge in shot attempts, an 18-3 edge in scoring chances and a 6-1 edge in high-danger chances in 5-on-5 play. The only thing keeping the Sharks ahead was the eight-plus minutes they got to play with an extra man.
They took a 1-0 lead with 12:50 left in the first when San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson ripped a slap shot off the inside of Forsling’s knee, essentially giving the Sharks a 5-on-3, which they capitalized on. When they took a 2-1 lead, their latest go-ahead goal came after 1:38 after a power play ended and they had Florida pinned back in its own end. Even the Panthers’ lone goal in the first came when San Jose was on the power pay and All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau scored Florida’s league-leading ninth shorthanded goal of the season.
In the second period, the Panthers survived eight power-play shots and 12 power-play scoring chances to keep the Sharks’ lead at 2-1 at the second intermission. For the rest of the game, Florida dominated with a 40-7 advantage in shot attempts, a 19-4 advantage in scoring chances and a 6-1 advantage in high-danger chances.
As Vatrano said, it’s what the Panthers do. At any moment, they have the ability to flip the switch and overwhelm their opponent because of how deep they are.
Case in point: Vatrano has only played in 48 of 60 games this year, a healthy scratch in most others, and yet he became the focal point of a road comeback to push Florida back atop the East standings by beginning a seven-game road trip with three points in two games.
“Obviously, just find a way to win,” Knight said. “That’s what’s most important.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 1:18 AM.
