5 Takeaways: Panthers Rally Falls Just Short in Loss to Devils

NEWARK -A very controversial call, some unlucky bounces and more than a few missed opportunities were the main difference makers for the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center.

The Panthers (2-4-3) finished with an 81-48 advantage over the Devils in shot attempts, but were held without a goal until late in the third period. But it was the 2-on-1 breaks, a few power plays and more than a handful of shots that rang off the post that were the difference.
Of Florida's eight games this season, seven have now been decided by a single goal.
"I thought it was a pretty good road game by us," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "I thought we played pretty well. Obviously the difference in the game was us not burying some of the 2-on-1's or the breakaways that we had.
"I think we hit a crossbar on the power play; I think we hit another post there midway through the third. The puck wasn't really our friend tonight. They buried their chances. I think it was a pretty even game. I thought we were right there."
Trailing 3-0 in third period, Mike Matheson sparked a late comeback for the Panthers, scoring the team's first goal of the night at 15:03. Later, with the goaltender pulled, Mike Hoffman cut the deficit down to one with 15 seconds left in regulation. By then, however, it was too late.

Moving forward, the Panthers will now try and build off that strong finish in the third period.
"There's never any die in our locker room," Matheson said.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday's loss in Newark…

1. GETTING SOME INTERFERENCE

There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding the first goal on Saturday.
With just a few seconds remaining in the first period, Damon Severson fired on a shot on net that bounced off Kyle Palmieri and into Florida's net for a good goal at 19:50. The only problem? James Reimer was sent tumbling to the ice after making contact with Palmieri prior to the score.
Citing goaltender interference, the Panthers quickly challenged the goal. But ffter a lengthy review, the call was eventually upheld with the NHL Situation Room saying that "there was incidental contact between Palmieri and Reimer outside of the goal crease prior to the goal."
See the goal in question HERE.
In making their decision, here's the passage the Situation Room pulled from the rulebook:
The decision was made in accordance with Rule 69.4 which states, in part, that the goal should be allowed because "incidental contact will be permitted when the goalkeeper is in the act of playing the puck outside his goal crease provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such unnecessary contact."
"I'm very confused at what happened on the first call, with the goalie interference" Boughner said of the incident. "Reims had to stick his arm out to make a blocker save, and then the contact with the goalie ended up pushing the puck in. I don't know what the rule is anymore. That could have cost us a point, and it did cost us a point in my mind."

2. CHANCES ON THE POWER PLAY

The Devils carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but the Panthers had their chances.
Florida had three opportunities with the man advantage over the first 20 minutes and, although they looked very sharp at times, the closest they came to scoring was when Vincent Trocheck rifled a shot off the post. At the end of the first, they held a 27-16 advantage in total shot attempts.
"Our power play had a few chances, especially early on in the first period with that 5-on-3 where we should have buried one or two chances," Matheson said. "In one of those power plays we hit a couple posts. Special teams is always such an important part of the game."
Entering this afternoon's game, the power play had been one of Florida's biggest strengths in recent weeks. In their five previous games, the Panthers registered a power play goal in all but one contest, with their success rate sitting at an impressive 25 percent (6-for-24) in that span.
And despite finishing the game 0-for-4, Boughner liked his team's looks on the power play.
"Our power play, even though we didn't get one, we had some great chances," Boughner said. "We missed a couple open doors."

3. PENALTY KILL, REIMER LOOK SHARP

New Jersey had scored at least one power play goal in each game this season - until Saturday.
The Panthers went a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill against the Devils, keeping the opposing power play off the scoresheet throughout the entire 60 minutes of action for the third time this season, including stifling New Jersey's 5-on-3 attempt for 38 seconds of the second period. "We know we can be successful on the PK," Reimer said.
"We know what it takes to be successful. I think it's just about taking those steps. The other night on [Brooklyn] Long Island we did some good things. I thought tonight we stepped up again and made the decision that when you go down [a man], it's time to step up and be the difference. I thought for the PK, as a whole, we did that tonight."
After picking up his first win of the season on Wednesday night against the Islanders, Reimer was steady once again in net for the Panthers, especially on the penalty kill. Of the 23 saves he made against the Devils, many were difficult, including a few big stops on breakaways.
"He gave us a chance to win," Boughner said of Riemer. "That's all we ask."

4. HOFFMAN STILL STREAKING

With his goal in the waning seconds of regulation, Hoffman extended his point streak to seven games and his goal streak to four - both team highs. The 28-year-old goal now sits all alone atop the team's goal-scoring lead with five scores through nine games this season.
Hoffman finished the afternoon with a game-high and season-high eight shots on goal.

Prior to the game, Boughner said he believes that Hoffman's growing comfort with Florida's defensive system is starting to allow him to be more effective on the offensive side of the puck.
"He's not overthinking it now," Boughner told reporters during his pre-game media scrum. "I think it's becoming instinct with him. He realizes to be successful that he's got to get off 6-7 shots per game."

5. FINLAND BOUND

After three away games, the Panthers will now play two far away games.
As part of the highly-anticipated 2018 NHL Global Series, the Panthers boarded an eight-hour flight to Helsinki, Finland following Saturday afternoon's defeat to compete in a pair of games against the Winnipeg Jets at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland on Thursday, Nov. 1 and Friday, Nov. 2.
"We've got to find ways to get points in Finland against a real good hockey team," Boughner said. "Try and use the next two days to get some rest. It's been a grueling couple of weeks here. Have some team bonding, have a little fun there on the day off on Monday. We'll] get to work Tuesday and try to play well against Winnipeg."
Stay tuned to
[FloridaPanthers.com/GlobalSeries
for updates throughout the trip.