There isn't much to say about this game besides "wow" in the aspect of goaltending. Craig Anderson and Alex Auld played outstanding in net for both teams tonight. The lone goal, not a goaltender's fault. Alex Auld had no chance on a shot that look to slightly change direction off of his defenseman, Mark Stuart. Plus, it was the type of shot that was released behind the skate of Stuart which makes it very difficult to see the angle at which the shot is going, along with the redirection.
I know this is not the main reason why the Bruins lost, however, Phil Kessel tried to maneuver through three Florida guys breaking into the offensive zone, and lost the puck which lead to the odd-man rush that resulted in the game-winning goal for Florida. Kessel is young but, he really needs to start taking it to the outside or dumping the puck in because this exact situation is constant three strides over the blueline. I remember saying to myself late in the third, "wow, Kessel just dumped the puck, maybe he turned the corner." Wrong. This kid has a ways to go yet.
Say what you want about Alex Auld but, he has been a marquee acquisition by Chiarelli. He has made some big starts filling in for Thomas when he needed rest and like tonight, he gave the team a chance to win. Tonight, he was poised on all 31 shots that he stopped. Anyone who wants to blame Auld is just plain ignorant. He made a huge save with 1:04 left in regulation to even salvage a point in this game.
Overall, I liked the intensity. Unfortunately, the Bruins ran into a hot goalie who set a record for saves in a shutout (53 I believe) against the Islanders in Florida's last game (1-0 W) and 40 stops against the Bruins tonight (1-0 OTW). Frankly, the Panthers are lucky to gain four points in the last two games. Congrats to Anderson though, 93 shots, 93 saves.
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