Ottawa – The Florida Panthers will have to wait at least a little longer to punch tickets.
The defending Stanley Cup champions, who missed a chance to secure a playoff berth, lost 3-0 to Senator Ottawa at Canada Tire Centre on Saturday.
Third in the Atlantic division at 44-28-4, the Panthers could lock the playoff spot late tonight if the Toronto Maple Leafs can beat the Columbus Blue Jacket.
“We have a large portion of the games that look like they’re visible,” coach Paul Maurice said of the team’s performance in Ottawa. “We thought our gap was really good. The hunt back was good. We were pretty direct to their net. We made some small mistakes 5-5, but we didn’t have to worry about a lot. The game was played correctly.”
With enough play to win again, the Panthers couldn’t finish in Ottawa.
Despite having an entire All-Star team on the injured list, the Panthers still led Senator 83-41 in shot attempts and 37-21 with a chance to win 37-21.
“We felt that we were a better team, 5-5,” forward Jesper Boqvist said.
When Jake Sanderson sped up a pass from Shane Pinto and blows one timer into the net at 11:21 in the first period, the senator broke the ice in his barn, taking a 1-0 lead.
On the power play, the senator doubled the lead when Drake Bannerson got one Dylan Cozens timer and went 2-0 past Sergei Bobrovsky.
Despite leading 14-7 on goal shots, the Panthers were in the hole 20 minutes later.
“A lot of good stuff, but we have to score points,” Boqvist said.
The Panthers were nearly at the deficit in their second season, and were denied their target when Anton Forsberg took Seth Jones with a shot from close by with an outstanding glove save.
After that, Forsberg flashed the leather again with one Sam Reinhart’s timer.
The Panthers thought they would cut the deficit by half when Evan Rodriguez hit a pack that flew back one way with less than two minutes left in the central frame.
Unfortunately, the target was quickly thrown due to the high stick.
The Panthers, who are worth the target, registered a 1.61 expected goal in the second term.
After pulling Bobrovsky to an additional attacker late in the third period, Matthew Highmore scored an empty net goal, extending Ottawa’s lead to 3-0, remaining in 2:20 regulation.
Literally, without a fight, there were some scrums before the buzzer.
“It definitely gets frustrating,” forward Jonah Gadjovic said. “We want to win at this point this year, but our products are right. I think our game is good. We play the right way. We do what we want to do.
They said that
“We were doing well tonight in the area where we were trying to get better.” – Paul Maurice
“We have to keep working and creating those opportunities.” – Jesper Boqvist
“We need to focus on the little things and play the right way. The results will handle itself.” – Jonah Gajovic
Cat statistics
-Panthers finished with a 4.31 forecast target, according to NatunalStattrick.com.
-The Panthers led 15-2 in 5-5 shot attempts when Brad Merchand’s line, Etu Luastalinen and Anton Landell were deployed.
-Anton Lundell won the Team High 11 showdown.
-AJ Greer scored a team high six shots in the goal.
– Jaycob Megna blocked a team high two shot.
What’s next?
The Panthers close the final multi-game road trip of the regular season within 24 hours of fighting the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesar Arena at 5:30pm on Sunday.
Click here to find a place to watch the game in South Florida.
