Saturday, December 7, 2024

Panthers Bite Sharks

     The Florida Panthers took the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena. The Panthers, who are now on a six-game point streak, recently completed a two-game Pennsylvania road swing. 
     Florida(17-9-2) rocketed out to a 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the first period. Sam Bennett intercepted a pass on the right wing and released a shot from low right circle that was deflected by Matthew Tkachuk in front and saved by Mackenzie Blackwood. Tkachuk eventually tapped the puck in midair and then batted it into the cage from the right side of the crease for his ninth goal in 2024-25. Tkachuk was able to extend his point streak to six games. 
     In the second period, the Cats made it 2-0 at the 10:05 mark. Tomas Nosek swept the loose puck from the right wing to the right point. Tkachuk carried it through the right circle and backhanded a shot from the low right circle for his second tally of the game and 10th goal of the season. 
     It became 3-0 for the Panthers with 6:43 remaining in the second as they converted on the power play. Tkachuk connected a diagonal cross-ice pass from the right wing. Carter Verhaeghe made a centering pass from the left circle that grazed off the stick of Sam Reinhart in the low slot. Aleksander Barkov placed in a wrist shot from the right goal line for his eighth goal of the campaign. 
     San Jose(10-15-5) finally broke the shutout with 1:25 left in the third period on a power-play goal. Jake Walman sent a pass from the right point. Mikael Granlund snapped a shot from the top of the zone and Tyler Toffoli redirected the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky from the left side of the crease for his 11th goal this season. 

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