CBS4's Steve Goldstein on Panthers biggest win of the season heading into All-Star break
SUNRISE - For the second time in history, the Florida Panthers host the NHL All-Star game and all the festivities that come with it.
From Fort Lauderdale beach this weekend to the skills competition and All-Star game, South Florida is the world's hockey headquarters this week.
The Panthers can enjoy the break more after Saturday's exhilarating win at home against Boston.
All-Star Weekend
Friday night will feature the skills competition and the NHL always gets creative with its events. Saturday afternoon is the 3-on-3 All-Star game, with Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk representing the Panthers.
How They Ended
The Panthers feel good about themselves after a thrilling comeback win over the league's best team before the All-Star break. Hosting Boston on Saturday, the Panthers erased three deficits including Barkov's tying goal in the final seconds. Barkov then set up the overtime winner, the Panthers' first overtime win this season. It will take approximately a 22-8 record after the break for a chance at the playoffs. With 18 of the final 30 games at home, while difficult, it is doable.
The Lyon Roars
Alex Lyon has been a great story. The 30-year-old goalie played the last six games with Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight unavailable. Lyon was solid and gave the Panthers a chance to win in all but one game.
This past week he played back-to-back games twice, unheard of for a goalie in today's NHL. The Panthers went 3-2-1 in Lyon's stint in net and he was excellent in all three home games. The Panthers return to the ice next week against Tampa with the question - who should be the goalie that night. The odds heavily favor Bobrovsky who should be ready to go, but it's hard to discount what Lyon did in goal and the team seemed to get big lifts and energy from Lyon's saves. He was great in the win over the Bruins and gave the Panthers a chance to win just about every game he played.