Flyers Upset Panthers

     The Florida Panthers were shocked by the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 on Monday night at Wells Fargo Arena. The Cats will head to Newark and face the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night. Florida is now 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. It was announced earlier in the day that the Flyers will be moving into a new arena with the Philadelphia 76ers by 2031. 

     The Panthers were unable to hold a lead entering the third period for the first time this season. They had a 16-0-0 record going into tonight. 

     Florida(25-16-3) got a shorthanded goal at the 7:59 mark of the first period. Sam Reinhart carried the puck through the neutral zone and left circle. He delayed and then lifted a wrist shot from the right side of the crease past Samuel Ersson for his the 26th goal of the season. 

     The Panthers increased it to 2-0 at 9:34. Nate Schmidt cleared the puck out of his zone with an outlet pass. Evan Rodrigues sent a cross-ice pass at the red line. Uvis Balinskis skated with the puck into the Flyers zone and snapped a shot from the top right circle for his second goal this year. 

     Philadelphia(19-20-5) cut the deficit to 2-1 at 7:51 of the second period. Scott Laughlin pushed it ahead from the Panthers blue line. Garnet Hathaway zipped a cross-ice pass from the low right circle and it was tapped it by a defender at the top of the crease by Sergei Bobrovsky for his fifth goal in 2024-25. 

     In the third period, the Flyers tied it 2-2 at the 2:01 mark on the power play. Travis Sanheim ripped a one-time slap shot from the right circle which was saved. Noah Cates picked up his eighth goal of the year on a rebound shot from the low slot. 

     It became 3-2 for the Panthers at 3:35 with the man advantage. Aleksander Barkov angled a pass from the top of the zone. Matthew Tkachuk backhanded a place from the right wing and Reinhart powered in a forehand shot from the inner right circle for his 27th goal. It was Reinhart's fourth tally in the past two games. 

     Philadelphia responded to make it 3-3 at 5:59 on another power-play goal. Matvei Michkov sent a diagonal pass from the top left circle and Morgan Frost scored his 10th goal this season as he poked it in from the blue paint.

     The Flyers got their first and only lead of the contest 4-3 with 5:51 remaining in the third. Tyson Forester forwarded an outlet pass from his own zone. Cates got to the puck at the center circle, raced with it through the slot area and backhanded a shot for his second tally of the game and ninth goal of the campaign.