The Panthers look to extend their win streak to seven games when they take on the Preds tonight in Nashville for their second game in two days.
Despite trailing opponents as of late, the Cats have found ways to get back into the game and get the W. They did it again against Buffalo last night.
They’ll face a tougher opponent in the 41-25-4 Nashville Predators. The last time these two teams clashed, Nashville flipped the comeback script on Florida and scored three goals in the third to come back and win 6-4.
Nashville has a lineup of legit talent and some under-the-radar guys. This team drives me nuts, so let’s look at Panthers insider Jameson Olive’s notes from his latest write up on Florida’s site:
“Looking like a lock to be a finalist for the Norris Trophy, Roman Josi, who won the award in 2020, dished out three assists against the Senators to set a new franchise record for points in a season with 87 (19 goals 68 assists) -- a number that also paces all defensemen in the league.
Second on the Predators in scoring, Matt Duchene has racked up 74 points (37 goals, 37 assists). After him, Filip Forsberg is third with 70 points, including a team-leading 38 goals.
"I love this team, and I'm getting a lot of free points because guys are playing so well and guys are scoring," Josi said when asked about his record-setting season on offense. "Our power play is doing really well. It's just so much fun being a part of this team. Everybody plays for each other, everybody wants everyone to do well, and it's just been so much fun."
Starting each of the last six games, Juuse Saros owns a 35-21-3 record with a .921 save percentage and three shutouts. Occasionally seeing time between Nashville's pipes, David Rittich has gone 5-3-1 with a .890 save percentage over his 11 appearances this campaign.…
Nashville also holds the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
I know a few games back that some guys were complaining about the Giroux trade. I still don’t have any issues with it. He has 11 points (2G, 9A) in nine games since joining Florida. Not to mention the fact that he’s nasty at the dot. I can’t remember which comeback game it was but he won two crucial offensive zone draws in the dying minutes - one of which led to the goal that won them the game. I’ll take that current 55.22% (and climbing) faceoff percentage in the playoffs all day.
Couple quick lineup changes heading into tonight:
Knight in net, per Bruno.
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) April 9, 2022
Carlsson and Gudas are in on D, with Hagg and Lindbohm coming out.
Lastly…I think all these comeback games begin with bad starts. We know these guys have the will to battle back, but starting on time is a different story. My opinion is that a lot of this started in MTL when Florida played two of the worst periods of hockey we’ve seen from them in a long time. Since that game it seems like the Panthers have struggled to have a strong start and set the tone to their brand of hockey, rather than the opponent forcing them to play a different game.
Some of these recent first and second periods have been a mix of sluggish play and/or being off by a step or two - usually plagued with bad puck handling and poor passing decisions.
The saving grace is that they have a boatload of talent that can routinely bail them out for now. But how long can that sustain? Certainly not long term in the playoffs…
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Go Panthers! Beat those catfish!