After going scoreless in Seattle, Florida Panthers know they need to reset quickly
It was an uncharacteristic night for the Florida Panthers on Tuesday in Seattle.
More than half of their shot attempts missed the net against the Seattle Kraken and most of the shots that did get through weren’t dangerous chances.
It led to a frustrating 4-0 loss to to the Kraken, a team that entered the game on an eight-game losing streak but provided a reminder that no game in the NHL is a gimme.
“We didn’t create a lot,” Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said. “I thought they did a good job of being hard defensively. They were heavy on the backcheck and they really clogged the middle. I think they did to us what we usually do to other teams. We didn’t do enough to break them down.”
Overall, the Panthers (17-9-2) produced 61 shot attempts against Seattle. Just 24 got to Seattle goaltender Joey Daccord, who logged his first career NHL shutout. Of the other 37 attempts, 18 were blocked and 19 either missed wide or high.
This doesn’t even mention the fact that Florida went 0 for 3 on the power play without registering a single shot on goal in the six minutes they played with a man advantage.
“They did a good job of boxing us out,” said defenseman Gustav Forsling, who led the Panthers with seven shots on goal. “We have to get a guy in front, I think their goalie saw everything all game. We have to do a little better job in front.”
The Panthers don’t have too long to sulk about the loss. Their five-game road trip continues at 10 p.m. Thursday against a Vancouver Canucks team that has won six of its past nine games and already has a win over Florida this season. After that, the Panthers remain in Canada for games against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and Calgary Flames on Monday.
“We just have to get back to our ways,” Rodrigues said. “Everyone knows this was not our best tonight. We just have to hit the reset button and get back to our game.”
This and that
▪ The Panthers are 8-2-0 this season in games following a loss.
▪ Florida gave up three goals in the third period: two in the opening 10 minutes to push Seattle’s lead from 1-0 to 3-0 and then an empty-net goal to seal the game with 3:51 left in regulation. It was a rare poor showing by the defense, considering the Panthers have given up just 24 goals overall in the third period this season — tied for the fifth-fewest in the NHL.
▪ Panthers coach Paul Maurice on the Panthers’ still struggling power play, which has converted on just 18.2 percent of its opportunities: “We were a little tight back there; there’s no doubt about it. We’re not moving the puck or our feet particularly quick. I don’t think we’ve relied on our power play a whole lot in the first third of the season, which for me is a good thing. We’re a pretty good 5-on-5 team right now, pretty good penalty kill team. Usually what happens is you’ll get to the frustration point on it and then break loose.”
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