The Florida Panthers are going to remember Tuesday night for a long time.
NHL scores 2015: Panthers doom themselves in Boston, Ovechkin joins history
Florida shot themselves in the foot on Tuesday. With a bazooka.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
It’s an understatement to say that right now is the most crucial point of the season for the Panthers as they scratch and claw for a wild card spot. It’s also not a stretch to say that their game in Boston on Tuesday was their most important game of the season. And it looked for a long time like they were poised to come out on top.
Florida led 2-1 late into the third on the back of a great performance in net by Roberto Luongo. But suddenly, things started to unravel. Bruins rookie David Pastrnak continued his incredibly clutch ways with a game-tying goal midway through the period. When it became apparent that regaining the lead wouldn't be easy, Florida could at least hope to make it to overtime.
And then Milan Lucic waded into the offensive zone and fired a laser past Luongo for the game-winning goal with barely a minute left in regulation.
Panthers just missed playoffs.
— Justin Bourne (@jtbourne) April 1, 2015
It's hard to argue they didn't, especially after the Ottawa Senators eked out a shootout win in Detroit just a half hour later. By letting Ottawa and Boston get away with two points, the Panthers sit six points back with five games to go. Those seem like insurmountable odds for a team that's fought so hard to get to this point. But so it goes.
Scores
Boston Bruins 3, Florida Panthers 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 3, New Jersey Devils 2 (OT)
Ottawa Senators 2, Detroit Red Wings 1 (SO)
Vancouver Canucks 5, Nashville Predators 4 (SO)
3 things we learned
1. Alex Ovechkin is in some elite company.
Ovi became the first player to score 50 goals this season with a snipe in the second period on Tuesday, which was a historic tally on a few levels. First, it tied him with the great Peter Bondra for the Capitals’ all-time goal scoring lead at 472 goals. But even more impressive was the fact it’s the sixth time in his career he’s scored 50 in one season. As you might expect, that puts him in quite a select group:
2. Chris Kreider continues to develop into a force for New York.
Kreider certainly splashed onto the NHL scene during the Stanley Cup Playoffs a couple years ago, but it's only now that he's truly starting to come into his own. He even has his own calling card; speeding away from defensemen and bullrushing the netminder is his signature move. It worked to perfection on the game-winner against Winnipeg on Tuesday. Kreider now has over 21 goals on the season while being under the age of 24. The last Ranger to do that? Former captain Ryan Callahan.
3. Violence ruled the night.
The NHL wouldn’t be itself without a few bruises every night, but for some reason players chose to toe (and cross) the line more than usual on Tuesday. Dustin Byfuglien cross-checked a guy in the neck, Alexandre Burrows shouldered a player’s head and then his teammate taunted him. Perhaps the tension of the playoff race is starting to bleed over a bit.
Impact Moment
The night started with a potentially horrifying play in Detroit. When a Senators player fell down on a faceoff, his skate blade flew up and sliced Drew Miller’s face. It was terrible to watch, and although he got to the training room quickly, it was hard to watch the replay and not fear the worst. Thankfully, he only suffered two deep lacerations and should be fine. I am aware how strange that sentence sounds.
Stat of the Night
New York survived a Jets onslaught.
Weathering storm is right. Jets had 73 shot attempts; Lundqvist stopped 32; NYR blocked 24 shots. Girardi had 10. Jets missed net 15 times
— Steve Zipay (@stevezipay) April 1, 2015
Post to Post
- Roberto Luongo was fantastic right up until the Panthers lost.
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