Not much to say in this blog today, fellas. Just nice to have Florida Panthers hockey back tonight!
While the majority of the league resumed play shortly after the ASG events, the Cats had a sizable break that extended 15 days. That’s right, the last time Florida played was on 2-1-22 when they beat the Rangers 5-2. Well, not all Panthers players had that long of a break. Let’s not forget Huby played in the ASG that took place on 2-5-22…haha.
But, seriously, that’s a rather big gap in play for a team that’s gearing up for the second part of the season and who is looking to maintain their impressive play.
The break can be viewed as a double-edged sword depending on how you look at it. On one end, it should have afforded guys to get a nice (total system) rest and ease the wear and tear that comes with a regular NHL season. On the other hand, you could argue that it may have taken away the momentum they had going and fear that it might have messed up their mojo.
I’m in the camp that the rest will have done them good and they’ll pick up right where they left off - maybe a little bit of rust/timing issues to sort out in the early stages of tonight’s tilt as they get readjusted to game speed.
I mean…they really have no choice but to hit the ice hard tonight and pick up where they left off. They’re on the road (their Achilles heel) facing a team in Carolina that is nearly identical to them in the standings:
FLA (32-10-5), 2nd in Atlantic Division CAR: (32-11-3), 2nd in Metropolitan Division
In the four games they have played since the break, Carolina is 1-2-1.
Florida’s lines/pairings this morning:
Verhaeghe - Barkov - Duclair Huberdeau - Bennett - Tippett Marchment - Lundell - Reinhart Lomberg - Luostarinen - Hornqvist
Weegar - Ekblad Forsling - Gudas Carlsson - Montour
Bobrovsky (starting tonight) Johansson
Obviously this Cats team is extremely talented, but when I look at those lines, I’m blown away by how strong they are down the middle. Have they ever had this much depth/talent at the Center position?
Some good news on the injury front:
Hornqvist, Acciari and Juolevi all coming off IR, per Bruno. Hornqvist is back in the lineup tonight, and the other two should get back in at some point on this trip.
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) February 16, 2022
Oh, yeah…and a very happy birthday to a living legend!
Happy 50th to the 📄! pic.twitter.com/IqYNJkEJMy
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) February 15, 2022
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Still not sure what’s up with not playing Double J, but I’m sure there’s a reason. Anyways…Go Panthers!