The Florida Panthers had a very short off-season, something they hope to experience again at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season — only this, with some new hardware to go along with it…
But before that can happen, their season needs to start…good thing that’s happening tonight!
The Cats travel to the Great North to kick off their campaign against the Minnesota Wild. The road to the Stanley Cup took its toll on Florida (like it does many teams), and they enter tonight with two key players in Ekblad and Montour out with injury. It’s important to note that Ekblad has been placed on LTIR and Florida has recalled Justin Sourdif with Bennett possibly missing tonight.
Don’t fret! GM Bill Zito managed to get some pretty good pieces this summer and the opening night roster will look something like this:
With some new faces in the Forwards group, the big story is rookie Mackie Samoskevich making the team. After impressing in both camp and the preseason, Samoskevich earned a spot on the big club’s roster.
While I’m looking forward to seeing these new faces up front, I’m even more excited about the ones on the blue line.
It’s wild that Florida will open up with only two defensemen from last season:
Forsling Mahura
They will be joined by new Cats:
Reilly Kulikov (nice to see him back) Balinskis Mikkola OEL
Reilly will have a chip on his shoulder, I always liked Kulikov’s game, and I’m most curious about Mikkola and OEL.
But it’s Balinskis who I’m most interested in. If you’re not familiar (because I wasn’t until recently), Florida scouted and sign Balinskis from the Czech Extraliga.
George Richards of FLA Hockey Now has a nice write up about him if you’re interested in reading it. There must be something there if a guy most of us have never heard of can come into camp (unfamiliar with North American ice, etc.) and win a spot on the blue line. Either that, or it’s a a sign of the desperation of the Panthers’ defense…just joking. HA!
The Panthers will have a challenge on their hands against the Wild. Minnesota has talent in guys like Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson, Kirill Kaprizov, Pat Maroon, Jon Merrill, Jake Middleton, Marco Rossi, Jared Spurgeon, Mats Zuccarello, MAF, etc…
Florida’s keys to success will be:
1. Dictate the pace 2. Keep that heavy forecheck going 3. Play a full-60 minutes
Though apparently fully recovered from his injury, I’m not sure how physical Tkachuk will be getting back into the swing of things, and with Gudas gone, the Panthers lose a lot of their grit. This is why I think it will be important for these guys to carry over that strong forecheck mentality and trying to out-condition the Wild through relentless pace.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for some Cats hockey! ____________________________
GO PANTHERS!