Photo credit: Screenshot- RDS
Daniil Tarasov nearly handed the Montreal Canadiens a freebie, and Florida Panthers fans felt the crease wobble.
On Tuesday, the Panthers backup drifted out of his crease and toward the bench as if he'd heard a whistle or a delayed call. The problem was simple, play was still live, and for a heartbeat the net looked wide open.
It was the kind of bizarre sequence that makes both fanbases inhale at the same time. A goalie leaving early is rare, and it only takes one careless touch for the clip to live forever.
Tarasov escaped the moment without immediate disaster, but the message landed anyway. When your reads get noisy, your whole team starts gripping their sticks a little tighter.
Daniil Tarasov moment puts Florida Panthers nerves on edge
I've seen weird goalie decisions, but this one had Panthers fans laughing nervously through clenched teeth.
Tarasov is 26 and still settling into a new room, a new system, and a new set of voices in front of him.
His contract tells you the plan, steady No. 2 behind Sergei Bobrovsky, nothing flashy, no drama. Bobrovsky is elite, but the seasons and playoff runs add up, and Florida needs real rest games if it wants him sharp later.
The trouble is that moments like Tuesday don't feel like «rest games» to the crowd. They feel like roulette, and the patience starts thinning because fans know how thin the margin is in the Atlantic.
It also feeds the bigger conversation about trust, because goaltending is confidence math. One odd read becomes two, then every puck behind the net turns into a groan before it even touches the boards.
If Tarasov is going to own this role, it starts with the small stuff, clean communication, calm puck touches, and never moving on a guess. The Panthers can live with goals that beat him, but not gifts that almost happen.
The season is long, and backups grow into jobs, but the next step is simple. Turn Tuesday's near-blunder into a lesson, and make the next one boring.