5 Takeaways: Hoffman Stays Hot, But Panthers Lose in New York

NEW YORK -The Florida Panthers were putting the pressure on all night but simply couldn't get enough shots past goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

After falling behind 1-0 early, the Panthers jumped out to a 2-1 lead after a pair of first-period goals from Mike Hoffman and Aaron Ekblad. But in the final two periods, Lundqvist took over, turning away every shot that came his away despite Florida outshooting New York 28-12.
"Lundqvist was really good, obviously," Panthers head coach Bob Boughner said. "We couldn't solve him. But we've still got to find ways… whether that's getting inside a little more at the net and things like that, there's always ways to improve upon. I thought we emptied the tank at the end. We didn't stop coming. I thought we did some good things. But, yeah, give him some credit."
Vladislav Namestnikov scored the game-winner for New York on a controversial call that put the Rangers up 3-2 at 2:37 of the second period despite the puck never appearing to cross the goal line. In the third, Chris Kreider made it 4-2 on the power play with his 11th goal of the season.
Despite the loss, Florida (7-7-3) finished with a massive advantage in both shots (41-24) and shot attempts (79-47). According to NaturalStatTrick.com, those 79 shot attempts are the second-most the team has posted all season and just the fourth time they've gone over 70.
"We did a lot of good things," Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle said. "Obviously an unfortunate call on their third goal, you know, the deciding goal. It's tough to swallow right now."
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's loss in New York…

1. HOFFMAN'S HOWITZTER

The Hoffman hype train has no brakes.
The blazingly-hot winger extended his franchise-record point streak to 15 games on Saturday night, beating Lundqvist with an absolute rocket from the left circle to get the Panthers on the board and make it a 1-1 game at 4:40 of the first period.

"You just try to find those areas of the ice where you can get open and those guys can get you the puck," Hoffman said of the goal. "Good things happen when you put pucks on net."
Hoffman's point streak is the longest in the NHL this season and, after notching a goal and an assist against the Rangers, he is now tied with Evgenii Dadonov for the team lead in goals (8) and points (18). The 28-year-old also paces the club in shots (59) and power-play goals (tied-3).
"I'm here to produce," said Hoffman, who was acquired in a trade with San Jose in the summer for draft picks. "To get a goal here tonight, it feels like it's been a little bit since our line got one. It was nice to get one and tie the game up, but it wasn't enough."

2. AARON'S PARTY

Stop me if you've heard this before: Ekblad has scored a power play goal.
After going without a goal through the first 14 games of the season, the 22-year-old defenseman registered a power play goal in his third straight game on Saturday night, firing a one-timer from the top of the left circle that blew past Lundqvist to put Florida up 2-1 at 10:11 of the first period.

Ekblad's recent scoring surge shouldn't really come as a surprise, as the former Calder Trophy winner is coming off a career-best 16-goal campaign in 2017-18. In addition to his three goals - which rank second among Panthers defensemen - he also has 22 hits and eight blocked shots.
With five more goals, Ekblad will tie Robert Svehla (61) for the most goals by a defenseman in franchise history.

3. POWER PLAY STREAKING

Ekblad's goal highlighted another good night for Florida's power play.
The Panthers have now registered a goal with the extra attacker in eight straight games. And after a 1-for-3 night in New York, the team is has gone 10-for-27 with the man advantage over the last seven games. Of the club's 17 power play goals this season, 13 have come on the road.
With the extra attacker, Yandle leads the Panthers in points (9) and is in a four-way tie for the most goals with three. After starting the season 0-for-13, Florida's power play now ranks 10th in the NHL, converting on 23.6 of its opportunities - the highest success rate in franchise history.
Since Nov. 1, the Panthers boast the third-best power play in the league at 34.4 percent.

4. SECOND-PERIOD CONTROVERSY

Despite dominating the second period, the Panthers entered the second intermission losing.
How? Well, there was certainly more than a bit of controversy behind that.
At 2:37 of the middle frame, a shot from Namestnikov bounced off the cross bar and then off Roberto Luongo, sending the goaltender diving on top of the loose puck as it approached the goal line. Almost immediately, it was signaled a good goal, which gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
There was, however, a problem: the puck was never seen crossing the goal line. Unfortunately, despite no evidence of a good goal to be found, the goal was upheld and the original call stuck.
"I saw about 37 replays on the jumbotron and couldn't tell when it crossed the line, but [the official] told me he saw it go in," Luongo said. "I wasn't sure. After I made the save, I knew it was behind me and laying somewhere. I just tried to lay down and it looked like I had laid on it."
Here is the official explanation of the decision from the NHL Situation Room:
"The Referee informed the Situation Room they had the puck completely crossing the goal line. After reviewing all available replays, the video review could not conclusively determine that the puck did not cross the goal line, therefore the original call stands - good goal New York Rangers."
"That controversial call obviously affected the game," Boughner said. "I think it should have been 2-2 going into the third. I'm confused. I still don't understand. I've watched the replay over, I don't know, 20 times and there's still no puck that goes into the net. I'm not sure why that evidence isn't evidence enough to overturn it."

5. PYSYK PLAYS

After being sidelined for more than a month, Mark Pysyk returned to the ice on Saturday night.
The 26-year-old defenseman was knocked out of the lineup by a high hit from Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin during Florida's 6-5 shootout win in Washington on Oct. 19. In the previous five games before being injured, he had recorded two assists while averaging 16:39 of ice time.
Prior to the injury, Pysyk had skated in 169 straight games since being traded to Florida in 2016.
In his return, Pysyk was paired with Yandle on Florida's second defensive pairing. In 17:24 of ice time, he notched one shot, one block, three hits and finished with a plus-1 rating.