Cooper Black made his NHL debut for the Florida Panthers against the host Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, but did not get enough run support to get that inaugural victory.
Black was good enough to get a win for the Panthers, only Florida’s offense faltered against Arturs Silov in a 4-0 loss.
Florida has lost two straight going into Sunday’s game against the host Chicago Blackhawks.
Black, 25, made his NHL debut as the tallest goalie in league history and stopped the first seven shots of the night before Pittsburgh — which had lost four straight — broke the ice on a goal from Nick Robertson.
Florida trailed 2-0 in the third when Silovs got hit with a 4-minute high-sticking penalty by smacking Sam Bennett.
The Panthers got little going on that prime power-play chance, failed to score, and Evgeni Malkin all but put things away 1:40 into the third by making it 3-0.
Black made 19 saves in the loss.
GAMEDAY NOTES: PANTHERS at PENGUINS
- Cooper Black was not only the tallest goalie in NHL history, but tied Zdeno Chara, Curtis Douglas and Matt Rempe as the tallest players to ever play in the league.
- Matthew Tkachuk saw his nine-game scoring streak come to an end.
- The Panthers were shutout for the first time this season. They did not score their first goal of the season until Gus Forsling beat the Hurricanes late in OT of the opener.
HOW THEY SCORED
- Penguins 1, Panthers 0 (15:09 1st): After making the first seven saves, Cooper Black gets beat on a shot from the slot by Nick Robertson.
- Penguins 2, Panthers 0 (9:59 2nd): Ville Koivunen slips a cross-ice pass to Hendrix Lapierre for a nice goal.
- Penguins 3, Panthers 0 (1:40 3rd): Evgeni Malkin drives in, scores on a wrister.
- Penguins 4, Panthers 0 (17:34 3rd EN): Robertson puts this one on ice.
FHN’S 3 STARS
- 1. Arturs Silovs, Penguins
- 2. Nick Robertson, Penguins
- 3. Evgeni Malkin, Pengiuns
ON DECK: GAME No. 12
FLORIDA PANTHERS at CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
- When: Sunday, 3 p.m.
- Where: United Center, Chicago
- Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/FTM)
- Streaming: Panthers+, ESPN+
- Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM. Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM, NHL/Panthers App
- Last Season: Panthers won 2-0
- This Season — At Florida: Nov. 4. At Chicago: Sunday
- All-time Regular Season Series: Blackhawks lead 30-22-4, 3 ties
- Up Next for the Panthers: Tuesday at Winnipeg Jets, 8 p.m.
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