Samoskevich came in sixth among the 14-goal NHL rookies.
“We’re getting better and better, but I still think we can get better, and this is the cool part,” Samoskevich said of the power play. “We will achieve that goal and continue to get better.”
With the Canadians playing their power play near midway point in the third term, the Panthers were taking the lead with a strong penalty kill, allowing only one shot.
Just before the third minute mark, Nate Schmidt broke up 2-1 with a great diving play.
Finding the Canadiens’ goal for game tying, Nick Suzuki jumped into the loose pack on the left side of the net, past Vaneckek and made it 2-2 with nine seconds left in regulation.
Just 29 seconds after working overtime, Suzuki scored a wraparound goal to win at Montreal.
In the defeat, the Panthers only allowed five total shots in goal in third term and overtime.
In the playoff hunt, the Canadiens (35-30-9) is how to hold a two-point cushion over the Columbus Blue Jacket (34-30-9) for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
“We didn’t get the results we wanted, but we have credit to them,” Samoskevich said. “They’re in the playoff sprint here. They’re not giving up. Certainly. I still liked the third period. We didn’t give up much in that third and didn’t play pretty well.
They said that
“It’ll be fun. It’s a playoff mentality, it’s like today.” – Gustav throws away in Wednesday’s matchup against Toronto.
“Every point is important. I want to get two, but trust them. They fought until they finished there.” – Mackie Samoskevich leaves Montreal at the point
“I get one of them in 82 games a year. I’ll leave it here.” – Paul Maurice on the nature of tonight’s defeat to the Canadiens
Cat statistics
– Mackie Samoskevich’s 14 goals are 7th tied by newcomers in franchise history.
-Anton Lundell won the Team High 11 showdown.
-Eetu Luostarinen blocked a team-high 4 shots.
-VitekVanecek made three high danger saves according to NaturnStattrick.com.
-The Panthers led 27-8 on a 5-5 attempt when Sam Reinhart was deployed.
What’s next?
The battle for the division is just beginning.
At the beginning of the remaining two head-to-head matchup, the Panthers will face off against the Maple Leafs at Scottia Bank Arena at 7:30pm on Wednesday.
The official South Florida watch party is located at the Funky Buddha Brewery.
Click here for more information.
