Yahoo Sports Panthers extend point streak to 7 with shootout win in Seattle
The Florida Panthers fought hard on Tuesday night in Seattle, and they were ultimately rewarded with a big two points.
Florida had to come from behind while the Kraken, led by goaltender Joey Daccord, pushed the Cats to the brink.
Ultimately the Panthers came out on top, earning a slim 2-1 shootout victory and extending their point streak to seven games.
A tightly contested first period was suddenly cracked up when Seattle found a seam behind Florida’s top defensive pairing.
With Aaron Ekblad pinching up, Chandler Stephenson saw an opening and cut through the center of the ice, receiving a pass form Yanni Gourde and streaking into the Panthers zone.
Stephenson quickly fired the puck high, and it glanced off Sergei Bobrovsky’s glove before fluttering into the net with just over four minutes left in the opening period.
That’s how the score would remain for a while, thanks in large part to the play of Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord.
Shortly after a strong penalty kill by Florida in the latter stages of the second period, the Panthers finally found a way to solve Daccord.
Florida brought the puck into Seattle’s zone and Sam Reinhart sent a cross-ice pass to Sasha Barkov, who one-timed the puck past Daccord to tie the game with 1:01 left in the middle frame.
The game remained tied deep into the Seattle night.
Daccord continued to come up big as the Panthers put on a furious rush in the final minutes of regulation, but the game would require more than 60 minutes.
Both goaltenders took turns making big saves during the overtime session, forcing the game to a shootout.
Bob made a pair of big saves in the skills competition, while it was Barkov and Reinhart with a pair of pretty goals to give the Cats the bonus point.
On to Vancouver.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Barkov has now scored goals in six of his past nine games.
He extended his point streak to seven games, accumulating ten points during the run.
Reinhart is on a modest three-game point streak after picking up the primary assist on Barkov’s goal. He’s now up to 39 points through 29 games.
Florida allowed Seattle just 10 shots through the first two periods, matching a season-low set last week against Pittsburgh.
Rookie Mackie Samoskevich finished with a career high six shots on 11 attempts.
Gus Forsling led all players with nine shots on goal, and his defensive partner Aaron Ekblad fired 10 shot attempts toward Daccord.
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