Boston Revisited
It was a remarkable and memorable victory that the Panthers pulled off this weekend against the top-dogs of the East – the Boston Bruins.
A goalmouth scramble as Frolik and co. turn on the forecheck.
Most impressive was the defensive effort by Florida; the defenders worked very hard and although Tomas Vokoun was forced to be very active (42 shots) and make some impressive saves, his defenders where right there to aid him and deflect rebounds out of harm’s way when needed to. The Cats third line of Peltonen –Campbell – Dvorak thrived in their defensive responsibilities and also proved to be the tipping point when going forward. Radek Dvorak was perhaps the most active of the forwards and found some open ice to attack several times during the course of the game and helped to kill off several Panthers man-disadvantages.
Radek Dvorak was unstoppable in the game against the Boston Bruins; scoring two goals.
In the end the difference turned out to be a couple of plays in the third period. Radek Dvorak found some open ice during an early penalty kill in the third and lofted home the opening goal of the contest; 41:44 in to the game. Then came that match-deciding sequence when Vokoun scuttled across his left leg – and on his back – managed, somehow, to keep the puck out of his net. On the ensuing counter-attack Campbell fed Dvorak who made no mistake – sliding the puck beneath Tim Thomas.
A few nervous seconds followed as the play went to review, but sighs of relief echoed around the Bank Atlantic Center as the crowd, glued to the replay screen, saw that the puck never crossed the line – and suddenly it was 2 goals up for the Panthers!
Did the puck go in? Vokoun makes the game-winning save on Bergerons wrap-around attempt.
Boston didn’t give up, but the wind had been knocked out of them, and the Cats held on for the vital victory. Vital because the other teams in the playoff race keep picking up points – left, right and center.
Radek Dvorak had a glorious opportunity, with Tim Thomas withdrawn from the net, to put some gloss to the scoreline and collect a rare hattrick for himself. It wasn’t to be, but the individual contributions – on top of a solid team effort – from Dvorak and Vokoun was enough to see off the Conference leaders on this night.
Tomas Vokoun makes another save and is helped out by a solid defense in front of him.
Noteworthy, away from the actual win, was the turnout – while not fully sold out – it was a good, boisterous crowd; just the way you want it when attending a sporting event. In fact, I noticed on a couple of occasions a few players looking up in the direction of the lively crowd – seemingly in disbelief.
They sure aren’t spoiled with good turn-outs our Panthers; but all the better then that the players could skate off the ice to the sound of cheering – happy – South Floridian fans. It seems that, a bit belatedly, people are starting to recognize what is happening here – we have a good team defying the odds and make a run for it, playing exciting hockey…
Whether that will be enough to convince Bo to stay however, remains to be seen of course.
Jay Bouwmeester steering away a menacing puck vs. the Bruins in a delicate act of balance.
Next follows a tough road trip which includes another match-up with Boston on Tuesday. Then it’s off to play the NY Rangers, New Jersey, Washington and Atlanta – before returning on the 5th of March to engage playoff-race-rivals Pittsburgh in Sunrise.
Notable is that the next home game will be after the trade deadline. One wonders how, and if, that may have a negative effect on the Panthers’ transfer dealings.
One can only speculate; but perhaps the Florida revival happened all a little too late to convince Jay Bouwmeester to stay and sign on to a new contract. And furthermore, if we struggle on this road trip; it may just make it even harder to recruit players of sufficient quality – to significantly aid our playoff hopes – before that deadline on the 4th of March.
Then again, we win a few of those games and things take on a very different outlook. The next couple of weeks will nonetheless be nail biting time for Panthers fans…
Tomorrow we visit a Boston Bruins side, smoldering with a burning desire for revenge, not just for the loss at the paws of the Cats, but also for yesterday’s loss to the Lightning. The ‘B’s have now lost 6 out of their last 7 games and will be itching to turn things around in their own house tomorrow. It’s really the worst possible scenario for Florida. Beating Boston tomorrow would be nothing short of a sensation and I’m certainly not overconfident, but if Vokoun can continue his fantastic form between the pipes and the defense remains solid – anything’s possible!
A sprawling Vokoun could again be the difference-maker at Boston.
