Take the desperate, explosive Florida Panthers and pit them against the Montreal Canadiens, who have nothing to lose and strange things can happen. With 10 total goals between the Panthers (seven) and the Canadiens (three), both teams had an absolutely outrageous first period on Thursday.
These two teams have made history (and left a few goaltenders very unhappy). Watch the entire carnage in the video below.
What place in the history of the NHL is the first period of the Panthers and Canadiens with 10 goals
Two games share an NHL record of 12 combined goals for two teams.
In 1980-81.The Buffalo Sabers and Toronto Maple Leafs scored 12 goals in the Sabres’ final 14-4 victory in Buffalo. Years later in 1985-86.The Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks scored 12 goals together, with Edmonton winning that competition 12–9 in Chicago.
The Panthers set a new franchise record for single-period goals with seven on Thursday, beating the previous six goals set against the Bruins in 2000.
With such early damage in just 13:18 of play time, only one team in NHL history has scored seven goals faster than Florida on Thursday. Ironically, it was the 1951 Canadiens who scored seven goals in 11 minutes and 12 seconds.
In the NHL, seven combined goals within the first 10 minutes of play resulted in the six-game tie in league history.
The Canadiens also set a franchise record with seven goals in a single period.
Looking only at the first periodsthe only other games in NHL history to match this start were the Sabres Canadiens in 1982 and the Flames Canucks in 1987. However, the spirit of the 1980s is definitely felt in this game.
Only four Panthers missed a point on Thursday in the first period: Anthony Duclair, Anton Lundell, Mark Staal and Brandon Montour. Sam Montembo suffered from a short start for Montreal (three goals conceded, three saves), but Jake Allen couldn’t do that much, conceding four extra goals in the first period.
At one point, Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky conceded three goals with just three shots. Absolute chaos.
Quick goals in the second, but the game calms down
Just a few minutes into the middle of the frame, it looked like these two teams could make history. Hubs forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard cut Florida’s lead to 7-4 with just 2:26 left in the second period. Just over three minutes later, Aaron Ekblad made it 8-4, then Matthew Tkachuk took it to 9-4 in just 7:33 seconds.
It was ultimately Florida’s last goal of the game, while Rem Pitlik’s powerplay marker was the only result in the third period.
In the end, Montembo started and finished the fight (stopping 21 of 24 shots in 38:31 on ice) and Jake Allen conceded six goals on 18 shots in 21:29. Panther fans chanted 10 goals, but will probably sleep well at night with nine.
Sergey Bobrovsky managed to get through this whole weird game, making 25 saves out of 30 and finishing with a save percentage of .833 in the competition itself. This is the second game in a row in which “Bob” conceded five goals.
The victory pushed the Panthers to 34-27-7 (75 points in 68 games), allowing them to survive the East playoff race. They are now on a five-game streak (4-0-1), and this loss helps the Canadiens keep up with the Flyers and Coyotes. for the best odds for the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
