Florida Panthers training session was successful. Three Finnish attackers scored.
STT Sports,
Jonne Niemeläinen
The reigning champion of the NHL, the Florida Panthers, defeated the Los Angeles Kings in their last practice game before the start of the NHL season.
In Florida’s last training match played on a neutral ground in Quebec, Canada, three Finnish forwards scored points.
The Kings started the scoring when the striker Phillip Danault hit the puck into the net in the first period after six minutes of play. It didn’t take long for the equalizer when Florida’s captain Alexander Barkov distracted the Kings’ goal guard with superior strength Darcy Kuemper and slid the puck into the goal past him at about the ninth minute of the game.
See below or via this link Barkov’s masterpiece.
Florida still took the lead during the first period when Anton Lundell beat the scoreboard again with a superior score of 2–1. Canadian defenseman from Florida Aaron Ekblad shot the puck from the blue line toward the goal. The puck missed the goal, but bounced from the back of the field to the front of the goal, where Lundell hit it out of the air past Kuemper.
Next to or via this link can watch Lundell’s great goal.
In addition to Ekblad, Lundell also recorded an assist in the goal Eetu Luostarinen. Florida won the match 4–2.
The NHL season starts on Tuesday. Florida starts its season at that time with a home game against the Boston Bruins.
Kapanen scores again
In the match between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators, Finnish players scored points in Montreal’s jersey Oliver Kapanen. Kapanen started the match in the third set Arber Xhekaj’n a field goal.
However, the match ended with Ottawa winning 4–2. Three of Ottawa’s goals were scored by an American forward Shane Pinto.
Kapanen has also been successful in previous training matches, at least in terms of points. A couple of weeks ago, in the match played against the Philadelphia Flyers, Kapanen recorded two assists. Also on Tuesday, in the match against the Senators, Kapanen scored one goal.
Kapanen, who played last season in Finnish Liiga KalPa, signed a three-year rookie contract with the Canadiens in the summer.
In a practice game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Utah Hockey Club, Colorado Joel Kiviranta scored one goal. The match ended with a 2–1 victory for Utah.