Panthers Look to Follow in Heat’s Footsteps: Even Series on the Road

South Florida has been buzzing as both the Heat and the Panthers advanced to the finals as eighth seeds in their respective conferences. That buzz was slightly quieted as both teams dropped game one in matchups that were competitive early but got out of hand in the latter stages of the games. 

The Heat bounced back in game two on Sunday night and were able to steal a game in Denver to even the series at one a piece. A big game from Gabe Vincent and a late game scoring outburst from Duncan Robinson helped the Heat pull ahead late and edge out the Nuggets 111-108. The Panthers will hope to do the same on the road in Las Vegas on Monday night. 

The Panthers got off to a hot start in game one, taking a 1-0 leadon a shorthanded goal by Eric Staal less than 10 minutes into the first period. The Golden Knights quickly responded with a power play goal by former Panther Jonathan Marchessault to tie the game at one. The teams traded goals in the second period and headed to the final period of play all knotted up at two. 

The depth of the Knights and maybe some of the rust from the Panthers having over a week between games started to show through in third period as the Knights took firm control of the game. The Knights scored seven minutes into the period to take a one goal lead and again six minutes later to go up 4-2. Reilly Smith would go on to add an empty netter to give Vegas a 5-2 win and the series lead.

The biggest difference in game one was the amount of time the Cats spent caged up in the penalty box. The Panthers were whistled for 11 penalties and had a total of 46 penalty minutes, compared to just five penalties for 18 minutes for the Knights. After an unusually quick review for a controversial non-call on a Vegas high-sticking resulted in a Knights power play, Panthers’ Coach Paul Maurice stated the officials “Must’ve been excited to get us back into the box one more time.”

The Cats will have to play more disciplined in game two and hope the whistle is a little friendlier as they look to even the series at one on Monday night before heading back to Sunrise for games three and four. The Panthers will also need their stars to step up as the series continues if they want to take home TheStanley Cup. Barkov, Tkachuk and Verhaeghe failed to record a point in game one after having great performances in the previous series.

The Heat went into Denver for game two and got solid play from their stars coupled with a few role players stepping up to make big plays. The Panthers will need to follow the same formula in game two in Vegas to tie up the series and steal home ice advantage.

Game two will start at 8PM on Monday and can be viewed on TNT. If you’re looking for a great atmosphere to view game two, make your way out to FLA Live Arena for the Panthers’ official watch party. The arena was nearly filled and despite the result, the energy of the Cats’ fans inside the arena was electric throughout. The Panthers and Heat have had eerily similar playoff runs thus far and the Cats will hope that trend continues with a game two road win.

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