Vilmanis and defender Uvis Balinskis both scored an assist in the first goal, but striker Zemgus Girgensons remained scoreless in the ranks of “Lightning”.
“Panthers” scored the first goal in the fourth minute of the second third, when Zek Dalpe made an accurate shot mostly after the passes of Balinskis and Vilmanis.
The home team “Lightning” recovered in the 56th minute of the match after Nikitas Kucherova’s accurate shot, but Vilmanis secured the victory for the “Panthers” in the 15th second of extra time with a strong wrist shot from in front of the goal.
The 20-year-old Vilmanis spent a total of 22 minutes and three seconds on the field, of which three minutes and eight seconds he played in the majority. The young forward scored six shots on goal, four power plays, one foul and a positive +1 efficiency rating. He was also recognized as the first star of the match.
Balinski spent 22 minutes and 43 seconds on the court, which was the longest playing time in the team. For more than three minutes, the defender was in the majority on the field and in the minority for a minute and 11 seconds. In the protocol of the game, the Latvian defenseman scored one shot on goal, two power plays, three blocked shots, two intercepted pucks, two errors and a neutral efficiency ratio.
On the other hand, Girgensons played 15 minutes and 59 seconds, of which two and a half minutes were in the minority. He has one shot on goal, two power plays, one turnover, won ten of 16 shots and a neutral efficiency.
Vilmanis has scored three goals and two assists in the pre-season test matches, Balinskis has scored 0+2, while Girgensons has one assist.
It is planned that Vilmanis, who agreed on a three-year rookie contract with the club in March, will start this season with the “Panthers” farm club Charlotte “Checkers” in the American Hockey League (AHL).
The “Panthers” have one more test game left before the new season, on October 5th they will visit the Los Angeles “Kings”, while Girgenson’s new team “Lightning” will meet the Carolina “Hurricanes” before the start of the season on October 4th and host Nashville on October 7th. “Predators”.
The new NHL season will begin in Europe, where the New Jersey Devils will meet the Buffalo Sabers in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, as part of the Global Series on October 4 and 5. In North America, the main tournament games will start on October 8.
In the previous season, the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup, beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in the final series.
2024-10-04 02:20:25