CALGARY – The goals were once again hard to come by.
Shut out for the second straight game, the Florida Panthers suffered a 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.
Despite 2.61 expected goals in the loss, none materialized for the Panthers.
“We’re not getting to the net,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “I think it’s pretty simple. We’re getting looks and we feel like we’re making plays and getting shots. We’re putting up 30 or night or something like that, but we’re making it pretty easy. The goalie is seeing a lot.”
Taking the ice without a key piece, captain Aleksander Barkov missed the game for the Panthers due to an illness.
With the loss, Florida now sits at 18-11-2.
Opening the scoring, Nazem Kadri forced a turnover in the offensive zone before beating Spencer Knight in a 1-on-1 battle with a nifty backhand-to-forehand deke to put the Flames up 1-0 at 8:57 of the first period.
Keeping the deficit at one goal in the second period, the Panthers stood tall on their first penalty kill of the game. Nearly netting yet another shorthanded goals, Sam Reinhart fought his way up the ice with the puck before being stopped by Dustin Wolf.
Nearly doubling the lead, Mikael Backlund briefly got the home crowd fired up a little past the midway point of the second period before his potential goal was called back after a review determined it was kicked across the goal line.
With puck luck continuing to evade the Panthers, Aaron Ekblad nearly tied the game up before the six-minute mark of the second period when his shot from the right circle caught the post.
"I feel like we're not in the right spots," forward Anton Lundell said of the team's recent lack of production. "We know how to change that. It's going back to basics and trusting it's going to work."
With less than minute left in the middle frame, Blake Coleman made it 2-0 for the Flames with a five-hole snipe from the left circle off the rush at 19:05.
Coming up with his biggest save less than five minutes into the third period, Wolf stoned Sam Bennett on a breakaway to keep the two-goal lead intact for Calgary.
At 6:17, Backlund went top shelf from the right circle to make it 3-0.
Despite the lack of scoring, the Panthers believe their biggest concern is their rush defense.
“It’s not a bad thing to be frustrated between games,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “I don’t care about the offense. If they’re frustrated because they’re not scoring, that’s got nothing to do with us winning hockey games or being a good team. Everybody goes through stretch. I’m not saying we should win every game. Our rush defense sucks. I’ve got to get that fixed. Other than that, I’m not worried about anything else we’ve got going.”
THEY SAID IT
“I’m not concerned about our lack of offense. We’re not moving the puck well enough to generate, but that’s really not an important part of our game. Our rush defense is AWOL. If we do that against Edmonton, they’re going to put 15 on us.” – Paul Maurice
“We’re getting our looks, but they’re not great. They’re not what we’re accustomed to. When we’re at our best, we’re creating havoc. It’s the second, third and fourth chances, and we’re a little bit one and done right now.” – Evan Rodrigues
CATS STATS
- The Panthers have lost six straight road games to the Flames.
- The Panthers led 26-20 in scoring chances.
- Anton Lundell went 7-for-10 (70%) in the face-off circle.
- Carter Verhaeghe had a team-high five hits.
- Aaron Ekblad blocked a team-high four shots.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Who’s ready for Game 8?
Meeting for the first time since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers will look to continue their success against the Edmonton Oilers when the two clubs settle in for a rematch at Rogers Place on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
To find a place to watch the game in South Florida, visit FloridaPanthers.com/CatsOnTap.
