The Florida Panthers are clearly still in preseason mode. In their Friday night exhibition against the Montreal Canadiens, the Panthers committed huge blunder that you’ll rarely see at the NHL level.
Trailing by two goals late in the third period, the Panthers picked up a big power play. To capitalize on their advantage, they also pulled goaltender Roberto Luongo in favor of an extra attacker.
There was just one little problem – the Panthers forgot to put out the extra attacker.
It looks like the entire Florida bench didn’t realize the team was on a power play and should have had an extra player. Instead of playing 6-on-4 hockey, the Panthers played 5-on-4 hockey with their net empty for nearly half of their power play.
Finally, someone on the bench noticed that the Panthers were skating a man short and the situation was righted. The team was unable to generate any late offense once they corrected their mistake, falling to the Canadiens by a 3-1 score.
What a weird and embarrassing situation. In a league where having too many men on the ice is a fairly regular occurence, it’s pretty bizarre to watch a team skate for nearly a minute with too few players. Thankfully, it is just preseason hockey and the Panthers still have some time to work on their observation skills.
