Matthew Tkachuk loses the Panthers the game after distracting his goalie from blocking the shot
Matthew Tkachuk is usually known for helping his Florida Panthers win games, but last night was the total opposite as he was the reason the team lost.
The Florida Panthers were their own undoing in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last night at Amerant Bank Arena. Brent Burns opened the scoring just 35 seconds in when his shot deflected off Aleksander Barkov and into the net.
The early setback left Florida reeling as Carolina dominated the first period, outshooting the Panthers 16-6. Assists went to Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis.
Florida answered in the second, as Evan Rodrigues blasted a big hit behind the net, finding Jesper Boqvist, who fed Anton Lundell for his ninth goal of the season on a slick backhand over Pyotr Kochetkov to tie the game at 2:17.
Despite several quality chances, the Panthers couldn't find a way to break the deadlock and costly errors proved to be the difference. Late in the third, Matthew Tkachuk collided with Jesperi Kotkaniemi, sending him into Sergei Bobrovsky.
The ensuing scramble allowed Slavin to bury a rebound for the game-winner with 7:30 remaining, as Tkachuk distracted his own goalie by pinning Kotkaniemi to the ground.
The Panthers pushed for the equalizer with Bobrovsky pulled but came up short. Kochetkov made a huge save on Matthew Tkachuk, and Aleksander Barkov couldn't get a stick on the rebound.
Martin Necas iced the game with an empty-net goal following a Sam Reinhart deflection.
Though Florida out-chanced the opposition 26-14 over the last two periods, finishing continued to be an issue with missed breakaways by Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe.
The Panthers will look to bounce back tonight as they close out their homestand against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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