SUNRISE — Daniil Tarasov played well enough to help the Florida Panthers get a much-needed win against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.
That will not be remembered.
What will be is one of the great postgame rants in Panthers history.
Tarasov’s off-the-cuff remarks to the media following Florida’s 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres could live on for a long time.
Tarasov, as many know by now, was not exactly happy with getting the stick of Buffalo defenseman Mattias Samuelsson in his glove as he was trying to make a save on a 55-fot slap shot from Beck Malenstyn that, really, was the play of the night.
Malenstyn’s shot from the point came midway through the third in a 1-1 game.
Florida challenged the goal for goalie interference with video showing Samuelsson getting his stick in the glove of Tarasov while Malenstyn’s shot was in flight.
The Sabres had a 2-1 lead, but Florida’s Paul Maurice quickly challenged it.
It looked like Maurice, Tarasov, and the Panthers had a good point.
“I thought he made contact with the glove twice,’’ Maurice said afterward.
“For me, that one was pretty easy. I didn’t spend much time thinking about [challenging].’’
So, that goal is coming off the board, right?
The challenge did not go Florida’s way.
Buffalo not only took the lead, but got a power-play chance in a hard-fought battle where goals were at a premium.
Florida’s backup goalie to Sergei Bobrovsky in 2023 was making stop after stop.
Alex Lyon was, again, terrific.
So was Bobrovsky’s backup in 2026.
Tarasov played one of his best games for the Panthers on Friday, one which will likely be lost in the brutally honest postgame comments that Tarasov is more than likely going to get fined for.
When asked about the interference, Tarasov wondered aloud about who, exactly, reviewed the play.
It was, as it sounded like he knew already, the NHL’s Situation Room in Toronto.
“Who did the call on this? Toronto?” Tarasov asked.
Then the fun started.
“What are those guys smoking there?”
Tarasov then implied the Toronto-based officials were a little biased against the Panthers since Florida beat the Maple Leafs the night before.
“Or, they’re disappointed for yesterday’s [Leafs] loss? I don’t know. It’s hard to say,’’ Tarasov continued.
“I went to play the puck and this guy drives into me and they said it was [sic] slightly contact which is allowed because he’s trying to tip this puck? I can’t even move a different way, reach for the puck.
“Two days ago, it was goalie interference when you touched the glove. It wasn’t a goal.’’
Tarasov’s fine is coming but is one which is capped by how much he makes ($1.05 million) as per the NHLPA’s collective bargaining agreement.
He’s probably going to get hit for a couple thousand bucks.
Here’s the thing: Tarasov did not seem angry during his postgame comments. Just a little annoyed.
He just appeared to be riffing more than ripping.
Maurice, who is not protected by the NHLPA, could be fined for much more than his goalie almost certainly will be.
Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper, for instance, got a $25,000 haircut for bringing up a bunch of AHLers to fight the Panthers in an October preseason game.
So, understandably, Maurice was being as diplomatic as possible when it came to talking about that specific call.
He has groceries to pay for, too.
“They felt it was more incidental,’’ Maurice said when asked what kind of explanation he got just minutes after Tarasov made his postgame comments.
Word of Tarasov’s quotes got around fast.
“I think [Tarasov] gave you the best answer. Just ride what he said.’’
The frustration for the Panthers was evident.
Florida is playing for its postseason life right now and Friday’s game against the Sabres was razor close.
Tarasov was simply terrific and, at the end of the day, got nothing out of it.
It was a wasted night.
While Lyon — who helped the Panthers get into the playoffs in 2023 with his magical late-season run replacing Bobrovsky down the stretch — was fantastic, Tarasov matched him save for save.
Giving up the go-ahead goal on a call they felt should have gone their way made the loss feel even worse.
Tarasov, like many who watch the NHL on the regular, championed the idea that the NHL still has not figured out what goalie interference is.
The common thought is, flip a coin.
“Two days ago, it was goalie interference when you touched the glove,’’ Tarasov said. “It wasn’t a goal.’’
Well, it was on Friday.
With the loss, the Panthers remained eight points back of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the East.
The Panthers only have 23 games left and Friday’s hard-fought loss is one of about four they can afford to lose.
That is what made it frustrating for the Panthers.
Although they really did not play well enough to beat the Sabres, they did not play bad enough to lose.
None of that was on the shoulders of Tarasov.
The Panthers have a mountain to climb if they want to make the postseason and defend their Stanley Cup championship for a third straight year.
With so many games in such a short time, the Panthers are going to need Tarasov to come up big.
He did on Friday.
He will have to again this week with the Panthers kicking off a four-game road trip Sunday on Long Island. Florida is going to play four games in six days with a back-to-back in Columbus and Detroit coming at NHL Trade Deadline time.
“Tarry was great,’’ Maurice said. “The goaltending, and there were chances, I thought was world class tonight.
“You have lots of hope when [Tarasov] is going in the net. From the start of the season to where he is now, he’s making better improvements. He’s going to have to win us some games for sure.”
The Panthers need to go on a run and, well, a win against the Sabres (who have not made the playoffs in a record 14 straight seasons but are now in second in the Atlantic) would have give the team a lift before boarding their flight to New York later this afternoon.
They will have to get over this one pretty quickly.
ON DECK: GAME No. 60
FLORIDA PANTHERS at NEW YORK ISLANDERS
When: Sunday, 6:30 p.m.
Where: UBS Arena, Long Island
National TV: ESPN
National Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
Last Season: Panthers Won 2-1
This Season (Panthers Lead 1-0) — At Islanders: Sunday; March 28. At Florida: Panthers 4, Islanders 1 (Dec. 2)
All-time Regular Season Series: Panthers lead 60-35-11, 8 ties
Next Up for the Panthers: Tuesday at New Jersey Devils, 7 (TNT/HBO Max)
