Panthers Wrap-Up: Panthers 4, Devils 2
Panthers score early, jump out to three-goal lead and hang on to tie the series at one.
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 Marcel Goc had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who survived a frantic Devils rally in the third. FULL RECAP |
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 - Forward Stephen Weiss. |
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 2. Building On The Lead: Florida had a golden opportunity late in the first as the Devils took simultaneous penalties with 17 seconds on the clock. Both Alexei Ponikarovsky (high-sticking) and David Clarkson (charging) would be sent to the box giving the Panthers a 5-on-3 for two solid minutes. They made the Devils pay 1:12 into the second as Weiss potted his second power play goal of the night, scoring on a rebound once again off of a Marcel Goc shot. The Panthers would make it a three-goal advantage with 5:21 left in the period as Goc beat Martin Brodeur with a hard shot from the slot. Florida would hold that three-goal advantage heading into the final 20 minutes. It was a defensive standstill other than that as the two teams combined for 27 shots (14-13 in Florida's advantage) through two periods. 3. Holding On To Tie The Series: Up by those three goals, Florida would need all of them as New Jersey pushed back early in the third period to get within one. First, Travis Zajac scored 48 seconds in off a Devils rush and then Adam Henrique set up Ilya Kovalchuk 1:14 later to make it difficult on the home crowd. The Panthers clamped down the rest of the way and despite some good chances from New Jersey, partically a shot by Zach Parise from in close off the feed from Kovalchuk, the Panthers were able to hold on. After icing the puck with 7.6 seconds left on the clock, Weiss took the draw. Despite a Devils win, Tomas Fleischmann ended up with the puck, racing down the ice and putting the game away with less than a second on the clock. The 4-2 victory was the first win at BankAtlantic Center and the first win since 1997. More importantly, at least in terms of this series, it sends the teams tied at one as the series shifts to New Jersey for two games. |
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 Memorable twitter posts from the game.
@heyfatlulu: Thank you, #FlaPanthers ! I'd never been to a winning home playoff game before tonight! |
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 Memorable fan posts from the game.
Peter Schell: Way to go Weiss!!!!! #1 Star!!!!!! Well deserved!!! Joan Sharpe VanVelsor: Love seeing those rats on the ice again. GO PANTHERS''''' Kelvin J. Fonseca: Coach Dineen knows how to work his magic!! GO PAINTERS!! Robert MacIntosh: Panthers already have more playoff wins in less games than the Pens and their star studded lineup. Who would have thought this would ever happen? Jeff Keaster: Playoffs, check. Win in playoffs, check. With both of those off our back let's keep it up with some wins in Jersey!!! |
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 1. Picking up the 4-2 victory, the Panthers recorded their first playoff win ever at the BankAtlantic Center. Florida had been 0-3 entering the game in Sunrise, falling to New Jersey in each of the first three instances. |
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2 Goals, 2 PPG, +1, 2 Shots, 19:15 TOI
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Panthers
DEVILS
Author: Glenn Odebralski | FloridaPanthers.com
