vs Florida

It took exactly 23 seconds for Eetu Luostarinen to remind everyone that paying for tickets to see this team is an elaborate form of self-harm. The opening goal set a tone of pure chaos that only deepened when the bench decided to challenge a Cole Reinhardt backhand goal. The challenge failed of course and we were handed a delay of game penalty just to make sure the start was as miserable as possible. Joseph Woll finished with a save percentage under 83 percent because his defenders treated him like a stranger they were actively avoiding while Florida dictated the pace from the opening puck drop.

William Nylander decided to actually show up for a few minutes in the second period and managed to make things interesting with two goals. He buried a power play marker with help from John Tavares and Easton Cowan before adding an unassisted snap shot to pull within one. This brief flicker of hope was the cruelest part of the game because we all knew what was coming next. While Nylander was busy putting the team on his back, Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan were busy finishing the game with matching minus-four ratings.

The third period was a total collapse that culminated in two empty net goals from A.J. Greer and Tomas Nosek. Mackie Samoskevich had already effectively ended the contest earlier in the frame while we struggled to put more than 19 shots on net all game. Max Domi and Troy Stecher ended up as minus-three and the team provided about as much resistance as a wet paper towel. It was a classic display of losing interest when things got difficult and it serves as a great reminder to never get too attached to a lead or a comeback attempt.