The Florida Panthers held three separate leads Tuesday, including a two-goal lead in the second period and a one-goal lead with less than 10 minutes remaining. They fired 48 shots at David Rittich and even successfully challenged a Nashville Predators goal in the third.
None of it was enough for the Panthers. For the first time all season, Florida blew a third-period in Sunrise and fell to the Predators, 6-4.
Forward Sam Bennett committed a costly cross-checking penalty behind the play with 5:48 left and the Predators scored 17 seconds into the power play, beating goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for the fifth time on 32 shots to take a 5-4 lead. Florida couldn’t beat Rittich for the final 5:31 and lost at home for only the fourth time all year.
