Heating up, Verhaeghe has logged a point in four straight games.
“It was special,” Verhaeghe said. “I just think it’s cool to be a dad.”
Keeping the Predators off the board on the power play early in the second period, Niko Mikkola played the role of hero when he flew into the crease, stuck out his stick and whacked away a shot from Steven Stamkos that was about to slide across the goal line.
“A little lucky, got the stick on it,” Mikkola said.
After a high stick from Nashville defenseman Nick Blankenburg on Anton Lundell drew blood, the Panthers came up empty on their ensuing four-minute power play. Leaving for part of the period, Lundell eventually returned with some fresh stiches under his left eye.
In the final minute of the middle frame, Saros stopped A.J. Greer on a breakaway.
“He made a bunch of big saves, for sure,” Maurice said.
On the power play to start the third period, the Predators thought they evened the score when an official signaled “good goal” after the puck had slid under Bobrovsky. But after a review, the goal came off the board after it was confirmed the puck didn’t cross the line.
Florida would later kill off two more power plays in the period to finish 5-for-5 on the PK.
Coming up with the equalizer for the Predators, Ryan O’Reilly crashed the crease and powered a rebound past Bobrovsky from the left side of the cage to make it 1-1 at 13:41.
Helping get the action to overtime and ensure the Panthers would get at least one point, Bobrovsky stopped O’Reilly on a partial breakaway with under two minutes remaining.
A good goaltending battle, Bobrovsky finished with 27 saves, while Saros made 30.
In the extra frame, the Predators unfortunately snatched the second point.
After Gustav Forsling was sent crashing into Bobrovsky, Stamkos fired the puck into the back of the cage, despite the cage having been knocked off its moorings prior the goal.
Still, officials called it a good goal and the result was upheld, thus handing the Predators a 2-1 win.
Per the NHL’s rule book, a referee is allowed award a goal if the net is displaced by a defending player and an attacking player has an imminent scoring opportunity.
“That’s the rule,” Maurice said of the unusual game-ending sequence.
With two games left in their homestand, the Panthers are eager to break out of their slump.
“We were right there again and couldn't get it done,” Mikkola said. “Maybe the whole group, a little lack of confidence right now. ... We let them come back again. It's a one-goal game again, and we didn't get the win."
THEY SAID IT
“It’s an impossible thing (confidence) to give; it’s good to be earned. You just need to stack up smaller plays, break you game down to incremental things, moving the puck on the tape, finishing checks, putting pucks on the net.” – Paul Maurice
“It’s tough we couldn’t get the win. It was a tight game. We had our chances on the power play. They were sharp on the PK, and we couldn’t get our looks. It’s tough. We got a point, but it’s not exactly what we wanted.” – Carter Verhaeghe
CATS STATS
- Carter Verhaeghe has scored three goals over his last four games.
- Sam Bennett has recorded eight points (3G, 5A) over his last eight games.
- A.J. Greer has dished out three assists over his last five games.
- Sergei Bobrovsky made eight high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
WHAT’S NEXT?
With two games left in their homestand, the Panthers will host the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first half a back-to-back at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
For tickets, click HERE.
