It wasn’t pretty but, it’s a win nonetheless. Saturday night, the Florida Panthers were able to snap a three-game losing skid with a 2-1 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild in a game that will not be remembered for its offensive display. For the fourth consecutive game, the Panthers put less than 30 pucks on the opposing net but Tim Thomas made it stand as he stopped 30 of the 31 he faced.
After the teams skated a scoreless first period, the Wild broke through early in the second on the power play. Jonas Brodin’s shot from the point deflected off a Panther and found its way past Thomas for the 1-0 lead.
It took 22 minutes but the Panthers did answer back with a power play goal of their own. Tomas Fleischmann’s blast was redirected by Aleksander Barkov past Josh Harding. Each team had solid chances to end it in overtime, Thomas and Harding were able to keep their respective nets clean.
In the shootout, which has long been the Achilles heel of the Panthers, Thomas stoned Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu while Jonathan Huberdeau (with another sick display of hands) and Brad Boyes beat Harding for the win.
To say this win was much needed would be an understatement. Instead of coming into Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a four game losing streak (and a 2-7 record), they come into it with some optimism that they can play with against a tough Western Conference opponent. Scoring goals against those teams remains an issue but, for this game anyway, the Panthers did just enough to come up with two points when they sorely needed them.
Follow All Panther Parkway writers on Twitter: Me @davidlasseter, Frank Rekas @FrankRekas,Paige Lewis @PaigeLewisFL, Jameson Cooper @JamesonCoop, and Amanda Land @HockeyGirl2530. Visit our Facebook fan page here and give us a like and share anything you wish with us.
Jameson Cooper
David Lasseter
Amanda Land
Paige Lewis
Frank Rekas
Leave a Reply