Cats vs Blue Jackets (FLA)

The Panthers are coming off one of a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, where Florida looked less than stellar.

For whatever reason, Carolina seems to have the Cat’s number - that’s how it goes sometimes. Sunday was no different, as the Canes controlled the game from the start. Like Q said, there’s going to be outings like that. You’re either tired or the scheduled caught up with you. Whatever it was, the Cats were not sharp.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing for me was the Power Play, or lack-there-of. Florida went 0/5 on the man advantage...c’mon, guys! The PP has always been a positive for the Cats, but it’s been a bit off lately.

I was also frustrated that they gave Carolina five Power Plays. Granted, the PK did a great job and held them to 1/5, but that’s a lot of opportunities for a very skilled team.

However, the Panthers have a prime opportunity to bounce back tonight against a struggling CBJ team.

Columbus has lost six of their last eight games and have caught the Panthers bug of struggling to find the back of the net - averaging 2.62 goals a game.

Per Litter Box Cats:

“Seth Jones is minus 11 on the year and looks to be battling an injury while Max Domi has not fit into Columbus as he is minus 13 and can’t be trusted in the defensive zone. But the big trade that was supposed to boost the Blue Jackets has not worked out as Patrik Laine is minus seven on the year and has no points in his last six games. Even captain Nick Foligno has no goals over his last 13 games and this Columbus team will be easy pickings for the Panthers.…

I don’t agree with the “easy pickings… part of that blurb, because it seems any time we think the Panthers should handle a team, they struggle *cough* Detroit *cough*...

The Cats simply have to be better than they were Sunday. For a team that can load up the SOGs, Carolina stifled Florida’s ability get shots on net. Per the Panthers’ site:

“According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Panthers mustered their third-fewest shots on goal (23) and shot attempts (45) so far this season against the Hurricanes. To put that number in a bit of perspective, they had just tallied 70 combined shots in their last two wins against the Predators.…

Carolina did a great job of disrupting/neutralizing Florida’s ability to get anything going offensively.

“We didn't have much time to make plays. That's probably why we didn't get many shots on goal tonight." - Huby

Look for Marchment to continue his hot play - I like this guy more and more each game.

Could it be that Bob and Driedger and switching spots? Driedger had a rough outing (which will happen from time to time) on Sunday where he surrender a couple that Bob would have been chased down by fans with pitchforks and torches for.

Bob has gone 3/4 with a .920 save percentage and 2.70 GAA over those four games. I’m looking forward to seeing him in net tonight. I think the consistent starts and success prior to Sunday have helped his confidence.

Let’s see how he looks tonight...

Also, here’s some recent movement. I’d like to see Stillman back in at some point soon.

Lastly, congrats to Yandle on his 1,000th game this past Sunday. Here’s a nice blurb from the Cats’ site on it:

“When Keith Yandle made his NHL debut on Oct. 11, 2006, "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 and "The Departed" sat atop the U.S. box office. More than 14 years and numerous Timberlake hits later, Yandle skated in the 1,000th game of his career during tonight's battle against the Hurricanes. The 352nd player to reach that storied plateau, the Boston, Mass. native is also just the 19th U.S.-born defenseman to reach 1,000.

"I'm lucky every day just to be playing in the NHL and calling this a job," Yandle said following Friday's practice. "Never really had the goal, never really thought I'd even make it to the NHL, so it's kind of one of those things where I'm just enjoying the ride, enjoying every minute of it."

Of his 1,000 games, 339 have come with the Panthers, 103 with the Rangers and 558 with the Coyotes, who selected him in the fourth round (105th overall) of the 2005 draft. The NHL's active ironman, he's also skated in 890th consecutive games, which places him third on the all-time list.

Helping make his milestone even more special, Yandle's wife, two daughters and parents all made the trip to Raleigh to watch the game and were shown on the jumbotron in the first period.“

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Hey - let’s get back on the right track here, fellas. Go Panthers!

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