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Panthers' frustration grows as precious points continue to slip away
SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers didn't hang their heads after Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, but frustrations have begun to mount after another "must-win" game slipped through their fingers despite their second outstanding effort in as many games.
"We played a pretty good game again, but, no points," head coach Gerard Gallant said. "We know we have a long way to go."
After taking a 1-0 lead early in the second period on Aleksander Barkov's 12th goal of the season, Montreal answered back quickly, tying the game 1:24 later on a goal from Alexei Emelin.
Less than five minutes later, a power play turned against the Panthers after a mental lapse in the offensive zone gave way to a rare 2-on-0 break for Montreal's penalty kill, an opportunity forward Jacob De La Rose pounced on to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead.
The Panthers power play went 0-for-4 in the game and is 0-for-7 in their past two contests.
"The power play changes the game. Especially when they score a shorthanded goal, it really takes the energy out of us. That was a tough one," Panthers center Nick Bjugstad said.
Disheartened but not yet defeated, the Panthers would tie the game shortly thereafter on a wrist shot from red-hot winger Bradon Pirri, who buried his seventh goal in the past 10 games.
The lead, however, would be short lived as Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban netted what would prove to be the eventual game-winning goal on a long shot from the top of the right circle that eluded Panthers goaltender Dan Ellis and capped off a wild five-goal second period.
With their postseason hopes on the line, Florida outshot Montreal 21-4 in third period, but could not solve Canadiens backup goaltender Dustin Tokarski to salvage at least one point.
"It seemed like we threw everything at them," said Pirri. "You have to give [Tokarski] credit; he made some saves. We can't leave it until the third [period]."
In their past two games -- at the New York Rangers and home against Montreal -- the Panthers have outshot their opponents by a combined margin of 82-59, yet have been outscored 5-3. If you factor in total shots rather than just shots on net, that margin balloons to 165-91.
"That's when it's really frustrating," Bjugstad said of the team's shot totals. "When you're playing pretty well and you feel like the team's at the top of their game. It's just little mistakes. We had a lot of opportunities and just didn't bury them. Eventually, we've got to find ways to put those in and put those in."
With the loss, the Panthers are now seven points behind the Boston Bruins, who lost 2-1 in a shootout to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Additionally, the Panthers also fell three points behind the Ottawa Senators, who captured a 2-1 overtime win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"We had a chance to gain one more point [on Boston], instead we go one more point back," said Ellis, who stopped 22 of 25 shots. "We're losing opportunities to get points, but you can't worry about that. You've got to move onto the next one and get ready for [Thursday's game against the Detroit Red Wings].
"Things can change in a matter of weeks. People can go on slumps or they can go on streaks. You just gotta hope that we hit that streak and that we get some help from other places."
With only 12 games remaining, the Panthers will likely need at least 10 victories if they hope to reach the postseason for just the fifth time in franchise history. As Ellis noted, however, the task in front of them, while very difficult, is not impossible.
The Panthers have yet to win more than three games in a row this season, but need only look to Ottawa for inspiration as they attempt to dig themselves out of a growing hole in the standings.
The Senators, left for dead not too long ago by many NHL pundits, have played themselves back into contention after going 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
Florida, however, must avoid big-picture thinking at this point in the season. Their playoff hopes may be on life support, but the road to recovery begins Thursday against Detroit.
"We're in the situation that we're in. You can either have it be a weight on your shoulders or you cannot worry about it and play the next game," said Ellis, who's posted a 3-2-1 record in relief of injured goaltender Roberto Luongo. "We can't put that however many points were down on our backs going into a game, that's just going to weight us down.
"You go into the next game realizing we still have a chance. Whether it's a slim chance or not, we still have a chance. You have to play it until you don't have a chance."
You can follow Jameson Olive on Twitter @JamesonCoop or email him at JamesonOlive@gmail.com.
