The Florida Panthers did their homework and targeted Cayden Primeau’s glove all night long. As a result, their five goals were scored on this side and the young man was shocked.
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The American goalkeeper was candid after the game, admitting that the visitors’ two goals early in the third period had affected him.
“I think I’ve been good at not second-guessing myself since the start of the year, but they scored two goals in the same place and that bothered me a little bit. It’s not ideal, but I can learn from it.”
He mustn’t let this upset him, because it could have serious consequences.
“You start doing things a little differently, that’s not possible, things can quickly get out of hand.”
Difficult to explain
Primeau didn’t know what the Panthers saw in his play that caused them to target his glove throughout the game.
“I’m not sure, I feel like my glove is good this year.”
Nobody wanted to throw stones at the 24-year-old bouncer.
“He is a confident young man, he will be fine. It wasn’t one of those nights where we looked his way. They have very good scorers who took very good shots,” Brendan Gallagher said.
Martin St-Louis doesn’t think it’s necessary to discuss with Primeau to help him master this game. He will rely on his goalkeeping coach.
“I patted him on the shoulder, I’m sure he will have discussions with Éric Raymond.”
Good match
Despite the 5-1 defeat, Martin St-Louis was pleased with the performance of his men, who were playing their second game in two days.
“From the start we had no passengers, we played a good game. The effort was there. We weren’t opportunistic and that’s a small difference because we could have finished third with the lead.”
Instead, the team was 2-0 when the Panthers started the third period with Sam Bennett’s quick goal.
“It’s difficult to start a quarter by allowing a goal after eight seconds,” admitted Johnathan Kovacevic. We were quick on our heels.
“We were the better team in the first two periods and it seemed like everything turned to their advantage at the start of the third period and it’s hard to come back from that.”
Contribution appreciated
If we want to keep a positive element, Johnathan Kovacevic was the Canadian’s only scorer with his fourth goal in seven games.
The Ontario native likes to contribute offensively, but doesn’t want to concentrate on it.
“I know I can do it, but it’s not my main goal. I want to be reliable and difficult to deal with.”
Captain Nick Suzuki emphasized his ability to put himself in good position.
“He always seems to find a way to create good chances to score and he is crucial when he gets them. It’s good to score a few goals from behind.”
Alex Newhook left in the third period with a left leg injury. The Canadian stated that he has a lower body injury and that his case is being examined daily.