*Photo from the Ottumwa Courier*
Looking to build off a strong season last year, the Florida Panthers are keeping the gang around in hopes of a better season this time. So far, so good. Sam Reinhart scored, Sam Bennett scored, and the Panthers defeated the Colorado Avalanche by a 4-1 score on Thursday night.
With the win, the Panthers have improved to 4-0-0 this season, which is the best start in team history, with the perfect 8 points in the standings. They had 7 points after 4 games of a new season 3 times, in 1996-1997, 1999-2000, and last season. In those 3 seasons, the Panthers made the playoffs every time. They are looking for a similar result again this year.
Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said of the undefeated start that "I think we're kind of taking it day by day right now. We know we have a lot of talent in the room, but we know not to take anything for granted. So we're taking it day by day. We want to win in the postseason. Right now it's great, but that's the goal."
Reinhart kicked off the scoring for the Panthers, scoring his first goal of the season 14:32 into the game, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead. With 54 seconds remaining in the opening period, Mikko Rantanen got on the score sheet for the Avalanche, tallying his second goal of the season, assisted by Sam Girard and Nathan MacKinnon, leaving the game tied 1-1 after 20 minutes.
In the second period, Bennett gave the Panthers the lead right back, scoring on the power play at 9:04 of the period, making it 2-1 Panthers on assists by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad. Up next was Verhaeghe, who added his 3rd goal of the season with 47 seconds left in the period, making it 3-1 Panthers. In the 3rd period, Anton Lundell scored his second goal of the season, an empty netter to make it 4-1, sealing the win.
Sergei Bobrovsky got the start for the Panthers, and he continued his stellar start to the season with another win, improving to a perfect 3-0-0 this season. Bobrovsky saved 30 shots out of the 31 he faced from the Avalanche, posting a .968 save percentage. He also collected career win number 300, becoming just the 3rd Russian goalie to win 300 games, alongside Evgeni Nabokov and Nikolai Khabibulin, who have won 353 and 333 games respectively.
Bobrovsky said of winning his 300th game that "Yeah, it definitely means something. I've been fortunate to play with great players, with great defensemen and forwards and teams. I appreciate them for this milestone. I had fun to play the game, and we were able to get two points tonight."
With Darcy Kuemper getting the night off, Jonas Johansson got the nod in goal for the Avalanche, and he got the loss in his first start of the season, the 3rd loss in a row for the Avalanche, who are now 1-3-0. Johansson saved 34 of 37 shots he saw in his start, posting a .919 save percentage, so he wasn't to blame.
Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog talked about the early season struggles, saying that "I mean, we've got 78 games left. That's a lot of hockey. Start with one, and obviously playing another tough opponent here in a couple of days. There's no secret formula, right? We've got to work and that's what we are doing and what we are trying to do."
Both teams get back into action on Saturday, with Colorado facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Kuemper getting the start for that game. The Panthers head north to face the Philadelphia Flyers, with Bobrovsky in line to start.
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