The Florida Panthers are back in the win column, defeating the Nashville Predators 5-4 on Thursday night. The Florida Panthers move to 14-4-4 on the season, which is 3rd in the Central Division.
Recap:
The Florida Panthers, who have lately had some really slow starts, came out firing in the first. Carter Verhaeghe scored the ice-breaker at 6:03, assisted by Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov. In addition, Mason Marchment got his first goal of the season, with the assist by Aaron Ekblad.
Marchment on his first NHL goal: “Honestly I never thought it would happen. Now that we’re here and it happened, it’s unbelievable. It’s a dream come true.”
Jonathan Huberdeau got a goal to start off the 2nd period, making it 3-0. Nashville would eventually get on the board at 12:23, with a Mattias Ekholm goal. The Panthers then got a power-play goal late in the 2nd period, scored by Aaron Ekblad and assisted by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. Nashville gave a second answer before the 2nd period ended, with a Filip Forsberg goal, making it 4-2.
Nashville made a late push in the 3rd, starting off with a goal that was overturned because it was offside. Florida got another power play and would get the game-sealing goal 9:07 in the third (Aaron Ekblad). Colton Sissons then got a goal to keep Nashville in the game. Ryan Johansen would also put one in very late for the Predators, but it would be too little, too late.
Takeaways
- Radko Gudas played in his 500th NHL Game on Thursday night..
Gudas on his 500th NHL game: “I just try to take it one game at a time. Playing in this league is a dream for every hockey player, so I’m fortunate enough to be a part of a great group that makes me a better player.”
- Aaron Ekblad registered a career-high 4-point game (2G, 2A) against Nashville. In the game, Ekblad scored his 27th career power play goal, passing Robert Svehla for the most PPGs scored by a Panthers defenseman in franchise history.
Next Up
The Florida Panthers battle the Nashville Predators again on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 P.M. EST.