Akira Schmid keeps giving the Florida Panthers exactly what they need.
Lost in the flashier offensive numbers from Tuesday night was another composed, efficient outing from the 24-year-old goalie, who backed up Florida’s 5-1 win over the host Winnipeg Jets with a 24-save performance. It was Schmid’s second straight win for the Panthers and his fourth in his past five starts.
Florida didn’t exactly make life easy for him early, either. The Panthers hung three goals on Winnipeg in the opening period, but Schmid held steady and handled the rest of the night with the kind of calm that’s been becoming his calling card.
“He made those saves when we needed them,” said Seth Jones, one of five Panthers with a multi-point game Tuesday, getting an assist on all three of those first-period goals.
“Lot of chances, Grade-A chances. He has been a rock back there for us.
He’s moving the puck well, seeing the puck so well. We’re trying to clear things out for him when we can.
But he’s seeing through traffic, doing everything right for us.’’
Carter Verhaeghe also pointed to the confidence Schmid has brought to the team.
“He’s been awesome, has worked so hard. He gives the team confidence every night he is back there.”
Verhaeghe did plenty to help Tuesday’s cause. Roughly 10 days after his hat trick, he struck twice on the power play in the first period, cashing in once on a loose puck around the crease and again with a blast from the top of the slot.
Florida kept rolling from there. Niko Mikkola made it 2-0, and after the Jets pulled within 3-1, the Panthers answered quickly with Sam Reinhart scoring on a bang-bang play from the Tkachuk Bros. to push the lead to 4-1.
Schmid did have one hiccup while killing a penalty in the second period. He handled the puck near the side of the net, didn’t see Adam Lowry coming from behind, and Lowry swooped in to steal it, wrap around the net and score before Schmid could recover, despite a diving effort back toward the crease.
Even with that setback, Schmid didn’t let the night tilt. He said he felt in control from the start.
“I felt good right away, felt like I was seeing everything,” said Schmid, who is 4-2-1 and has been filling in for the injured Jacob Markstrom for much of the month.
“Everything seemed to stick to me, too. There really weren’t any big rebounds, and I felt comfortable early on.”
The Panthers’ offense spread the wealth throughout the night. Jones finished with multiple points, Matthew Tkachuk piled up four assists, Brady Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, and Mikkola added a goal and an assist.
By the end, it was the kind of complete road win Florida had been looking for after opening the trip with disjointed losses in Ottawa and Pittsburgh before rallying to finish 2-2.
“He has been really really good, got a bad break on the goal ,” Paul Maurice said of Schmid. “I like the saves he made afterward.
He was sharp right from the start. He made a lot of good saves, made a lot of tough ones look easy.”
The teams meet again in Sunrise on Friday night.
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