The Panthers put together another really nice effort last night to win 6-1 over the Red Wings.
Sure, it was against a struggling Detroit team coming off a game the night before, but we'll take it. After all, it was the second solid overall team effort we saw in the same week.
While a bunch of guys got onto the scoresheet, I was most pumped to see Brown and Hunt net their first NHL goals. Both guys are hard workers each night and to see them get rewarded was great.
The Cats never took the foot off the gas. They came out hot and poured the shots on - outshooting the Wings a startling 43-20. It was one of those nights where you could tell everyone was feeling it and wanted to get one. Josh Brown was unusually offensive-minded last night, putting on something like the first three or four of Florida's shots.
While Huberdeau nailed the NHL's First Star of the Week honors, I think this was an important game for Monty more so than anyone else. Yes, it was his second win, but it was more impressive that it came on 20 shots.
What do I mean?
Goaltending is funny...a lot of people think the less shots a goalie sees, translates to an easier night.
There's some truth to that, but it's not always the case.
Growing up as a goalie (until skating out after college in mens league), I can tell you that seeing less action was always my most hated thing.
I obviously played on a much smaller scale, but a lot of goalies feel the same way. It's so hard to get into the rhythm of a game when this happens. I always preferred to be constantly (or at least regularly) peppered with the puck. It helped keep you physically in the game and prevented you from getting cold/stiff. It also helped keep you mentally in the game - which is arguably the most important aspect.
When you're seeing less shots, all of a sudden, every shot you see becomes HUGE and that much more important and scary to not let by you. It's a weird paradox that only the masked man lives in on those kind of nights.
I totally agree with RatsReign that this team plays differently with Monty in net. Minus his first game against Carolina, there feels like there is a different sense of urgency and cohesiveness when Monty is in the blue paint. That's not a knock against Lu or Reimer. I think the team tends to take those guys for granted when they start and assume they'll cover for their mistakes or poor play, which isn't always the case.
When you have a rookie in net, it's a different game. The guys in front of him are trying to make sure he doesn't get lit up and as a result, their game tightens up. You see it happen a lot of times with teams playing in front of a young gun - there's just a different response.
I really think we'll see Monty in net a lot more as the season winds down. Speaking of which, if he's going to be between the pipes more, he's going to need to get a new paint job on that mask Looking forward to seeing what he cooks up for that.
While we're on the topic of goaltending...
Last night Goldie mentioned that Monty is apparently only the fourth goalie drafted in franchise history to record a win.
Fellas...that's insane!
Florida has been in the league for 26 years. You would think that the number of drafted goalies getting a win for them would be higher, right?
I went onto HockeyDB to do a little research into all the goalies the Cats have drafted over the years. Below is what I compiled:
1993 Kevin Weekes Todd MacDonald
1994 NA
1995 Aaron MacDonald David Lemanowicz
1996 Denis Khlopotnov
1997 NA
1998 NA
1999 Jean-Francois Laniel
2000 Davis Parley
2001 Billy Thompson
2002 Mikael Vuorio
2003 NA
2004 David Shantz
2005 Tyler Plante Brian Foster
2006 Marc Cheverie
2007 Sergei Gayduchenko
2008 Jacob Markstrom
2009 NA
2010 Sam Brittain
2011 NA
2012 NA
2013 Evan Cowley
2014 Hugo Fagerblom
2015 Samuel Montembeault Ryan Bednard
2016 NA
2017 NA
2018 NA
I think that's a total of 21 if I added them up correctly. That's just shy of essentially drafting a goalie per year.
Some of the names are recognizable, but others I have no familiarity with. I'm assuming the lack of development over the years was a combination of skill, coaching inabilities and trades.
Either way, it was a pretty wild number when you think about it.
The Panthers have a few days off here before heading to San Jose to face the extremely talented Sharks.
I'll be back later in the week with a pre-game blog.
Go Cats!