It might be a a ridiculous statement, but I’m going to say it anyway:
Wednesday’s OT win over the Carolina Hurricanes was my favorite game of the season thus far.
Man…what a tilt! It had everything… It was fast. It was physical (with some big hits). It was fast-paced. It was tight, back-and-forth action. It had high-end skill on display. It was a close score.
Simply put: It had it all.
Truth be told, I was not expecting an effort like that from the Cats. Even though I expected them to be well-rested and ready to go with a good effort with some rust, I was pleasantly surprised seeing them match the Canes pace and give it right back to them.
The major highlights for me:
1. Carlsson selling out for an insane double-save 2. Marchment’s heavy duty, open-ice hit on Trocheck 3. Barky’s silky goal 4. Exblad’s dagger with 16 into OT
You couldn’t ask for a more entertaining game.
Florida will need this mojo to carry over tonight when they head to Minnesota to face a very strong Wild team that sits in second place of the Central Division.
Minnesota is a machine whose DNA is made up of big, physical and fast players. Their 30-12-3 record is a reflection of the solid hockey they have played this season. They’re also coming off taking a beating from Winnipeg that resulted in the Wild losing 6-3. This can be a good sign for Florida trying to attack a previously-battered team. Or it could be that Minnesota is looking to bounce back hard.
Either way, this is a big test for the Panthers. Not only are they playing a very good team, but they’re doing it on the road - their biggest weakness. But they should have some serious confidence heading into tonight after edging out the Canes on the road in their first game back since being off for 15 days.
Looks like the Cats will deploy the troops in something along these lines:
Verhaeghe - Barkov - Duclair Huberdeau - Bennett - Hornqvist Marchment - Lundell - Reinhart Lomberg - Luostarinen - Acciari
Weegar - Ekblad Forsling - Gudas Carlsson - Montour
Bobrovsky Johansson
No, you’re not seeing things on the right side of that fourth line. Acciari is back!
Bob starting. Double J rides the pine again…
Congrats to Reinhart on the big milestone:
Sam Reinhart on skating in his 500th NHL game tonight:
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) February 18, 2022
"I knew it was close after the break. It's exciting. It goes by fast, but at the end of the day it's just another [game]. We've got another tough test tonight."
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I’m expecting another fun, entertaining game with a lot of speed, skill and grit…Go Panthers!