By finishing off the give-and-go, Verhaeghe netted his 10^th goal of the campaign.

“He made an awesome pass, really deceptive,” Verhaeghe said of Lundell’s set-up dish.

Starting the second period on the penalty kill, the Panthers held Colorado’s vaunted power play to just two shots on goal. Later in the period, the Panthers got the job done once again with another stalwart showing on the penalty kill, this time surrendering zero shots on goal.

Despite taking the ice without two of their top defensemen and penalty killers in Ekblad and Mikkola, who are both sidelined by injuries, the Panthers went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

“I think we did a good job,” forward Eetu Luostarinen said of the team’s work while shorthanded. “We know they have a lot of guys that can make plays and score. I think we didn’t give them too much time and space.”

Evening the score for Colorado, Devon Toews fired a shot through traffic that went off the cross bar, hit Sergei Bobrovsky’s back and then fluttered into the net to make it 1-1 at 18:18.

A grinder of a second period, the two teams combined for just five shots at 5-on-5.

After being shut down on the power play once again early in the third period, the Avalanche found the go-ahead goal they needed at even strength. Notching his second goal of the game, Toews found the back of the net with another point shot to make it 2-0 at 8:54.

From there, Bobrovsky and Blackwood went save for save for several minutes.

A great goaltending battle, Bobrovsky finished with 31 saves, while Blackwood made 26.

“He’s our wall back there,” Verhaeghe said of Bobrovsky. “I can’t say enough.”

Sealing the win for Colorado, Miko Rantanen made it 3-1 with an empty-net goal at 18:03.

“I think it was a tight game, a 2-1 game,” Verhaeghe said of the third period. “It’s a game we’re used to playing in. The last time game we got the better of it. It just took one break. We had our chances and looks to get back into the game or to tie it up. It didn’t go for us.”

THEY SAID IT

“We supported pretty well, moved the puck pretty well. Both team’s penalty kill was really strong. It was going to be a tight game.” – Paul Maurice

“It was kind of back-and-forth of a game. We had our chances, but they capitalized on one, which was kind of the difference. Yeah, we’re comfortable playing in those games. We usually pull it out.” – Carter Verhaeghe

CATS STATS

– Aleksander Barkov went 8-for-13 (61.5%) in the face-off circle.

– Dmitry Kulikov blocked a team-high three shots.

– Tobias Bjornfot saw 15:29 of ice time in his season debut.

– Sergei Bobrovsky made 10 high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will close the book on their two-game road trip with their first-ever trip to Salt Lake City for a matchup against the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch the game in South Florida, click HERE.

It’s high school football season once again in the Sunshine State! Nope, not that kind of football. Not yet anyways, darn it. 

Girls flag football season will be getting underway throughout the state of Florida in about a month and there’s plenty to think about before then. 

So how about some preseason rankings for an appetizer? 

Headlining the top of the rankings heading into preseason play is the No. 1, Robinson Knights of Hillsborough County, and at No. 2 is Miami Palmetto. Both teams won state championships last May and are coming off strong 2024 campaigns. There’s a slew of teams we looked at for our initial rankings and now we break out the preseason edition. Check out our power rankings and let us know what you think.

The Knights went 24-0 last season, winning the Class 1A state championship the end. Returning quarterback Haidyn Spano and an experienced roster makes this an easy pick.

Miami Palmetto won the Class 2A state championship last season and Kevin Mujica returns a slew of starters, including his quarterback. Definitely will be in to winning it all this spring.

Never too far away from the top are the Ravens out of Tampa. Alonso fell well short of its annual goal of winning it all, but returning quarterback Gabby Werr and dynamo Makenna Sturgis makes this team a dangerous one.

After falling in a heartbreaker to Miami Palmetto last season, Lennard returns plenty of talent, though who will be the quarterback after Abby Ewell is a question mark.

The Patriots were the youngest team among those that played at states last year in Tampa. Returning quarterback Amaya Pablo and other starters, we like this team to make another deep run with what they have coming back.

Keidran Willis and his girls last season made program history by reaching the Class 1A state championship game. The Jaguars have the offensive talent to get back to Tampa this season.

Indians’ quarterback Diaris Morales was sensational as a sophomore last season and should be that much better as a junior this spring.

When you have a player of the caliber of Adrienne Rivera running your offense, it’s hard to ignore the Cobras as a viable state championship team this spring.

Some tend to forget that the Wolves took teams like Alonso to the brink. Newsome always is in the thick of it all when it comes to being one of the top clubs out of Hillsborough County.

The Broncos’ offense was electric last season behind the play of quarterback Jerniyah Fowles, who is back this season.

If you didn’t learn this name last year, get to know it this spring: KK Ramsey.

Beating Class 2A state runnerup Lennard during the season speaks volume of how good this Hawks’ team really is. Keep an eye on this team.

Though the Wolverines lost quarterback Keelin Coleman due to graduation, the Wolverines will be one of the top teams out of the 561.

The Raiders have continued to make their way upwards in the rankings as they came within a score of Pembroke Pines Charter in the playoffs. Easily a team we could see playing deep into the postseason this spring.

Though the Pirates lost quarterback Cydnee Brooks and a few other starters, this team has re-stocked and will be the best out of the South Suncoast.

When it came to the best of Pinellas County, the Green Devils were the top team. Beat Braden River last season during the season and have the talent to compete with anyone once again.

The Eagles finished with 13 victories a year ago and are a program on the rise out of South Florida.

Central Florida just started fielding flag football, but the Panthers have made a quick acension up the ranks. Dr. Phillips should be ready to take the next step this season.

The Wildcats are perennially one of the best teams in the state, but an early playoff exit last season set them back. Western will be looking to establish themselves as South Florida’s best.

If not for Homestead, we could’ve easily been thinking Miami Edison higher up in these initial rankings.

If there was one thing for certain, the Blue Devils’ defense was something serious in 2024. Clay only allowed 33 points last season.

Looking at the kind of talent coming back, Somerset Academy-Canyons will be a team that could move up the rankings sooner rather than later.

All three losses suffered by the Spartans last season came at the hands of Class 2A state champion Miami Palmetto. 

Having quarterback Robyn Cantwell back under center has us thinking the Crusaders will be one of the better Tampa Bay area clubs.

Only team out of the North Suncoast in these rankings is the Panthers as they bring back a bevy of talent, including quarterback Peyton Dison.

Follow High School On SI throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before. For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

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It is not yet known what effect this will have on the state’s decision to allow a permit for an exploratory oil well along the Apalachicola River.

President Biden on Monday banned future oil and natural gas drilling and leasing off of Florida’s coasts.

His executive actions add 334 million acres of the Atlantic coast from Canada to the southern tip of Florida and the east coast of the Gulf of Mexico for a total of over 625 million acres of protected waters surrounding the United States.

While there are no active leases off the Atlantic coast, Florida’s beaches on the east coast of the Gulf of Mexico have previously been impacted by oil spills from drilling in the gulf, most notably from BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig in 2010.

“President Biden has determined that the environmental and economic risks and harms that would result from drilling in these areas outweigh their limited fossil fuel resource potential,” the White House’s press release says.

“With these withdrawals, President Biden is protecting coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and local economies – including fishing, recreation, and tourism – from oil spills and other impacts of offshore drilling.”

It’s not clear, however, what effect this will have on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to allow a permit for an exploratory oil well along the Apalachicola River, which has been heavily criticized by drilling opponents and lawmakers.

It’s also not clear if the ban will have staying power. Trump is vowing to “unban it immediately.”

A spokesperson for the Trump administration said Biden’s move was “disgraceful” and was “designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices.”

“Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill,” wrote Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt in a post on X.

The ban also includes the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, and additional portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska.

In Florida, the Apalachicola River is considered to be one of the least polluted, least developed and resource-rich bodies of water in the United States, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Critics of the state’s plan to allow exploratory drilling want Gov. Ron DeSantis to block Clearwater Land & Minerals from drilling through a lime rock pad north of Dead Lakes in Calhoun County.

Democratic state Reps. Allison Tant and Gallop Franklin, and Republican state Sen. Corey Simon had harsh words for the proposal when it came to light last year.

“It is unconscionable that efforts to drill for oil are happening at the same time that we are fighting for the revitalization of the Apalachicola Bay,” Simon said in a statement released by the Florida Senate.  

Requests for comment from DeSantis’ office and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott were pending as of midday Monday.

Ana Goñi-Lessan is the State Watchdog Reporter for USA TODAY – Florida and can be reached at AGoniLessan@tallahassee.com.