The Panthers take the ice tonight in Vegas after coming up a bit short in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Coyotes on Tuesday night.
It was a familiar story in the desert, seeing the Cats play from behind, catch up, take the lead, only to lose said lead and eventually the game.
Did anyone call the police for Trocheck after being robbed by Ekman-Larsson and then Kuemper in the dying minutes of the third? Unbelievable saves!
Despite the loss, there were bright spots in the game as there weirdly always are with this team. The first would be that they gained a point out of it. I was impressed with the the play of Brouwer, Sheahan and McGinn (earning himself a goal). I felt like these three guys threw on the hardhats and went to work - getting heavy (hehe) along the boards, digging in the corners and overall hard work every shift to make life miserable for the opposition. I really like what Sheahan brings since coming over from the Penguins and I'm hoping Dale resigns him.
It's also good that the big guys continue to produce - Hoffman, Barkov and Huberdeau (shootout) all found the back of the net despite the loss. These are the guys you need to see production from and they're doing just that. Like coach Boughner said, the compete and battling is there, that's for sure. The problem is, there's just an ingredient or two that seems to be missing that could really propel this team to consistency in the win column...
Stick taps to Riley Stillman, son of former-Panther Cory Stillman, for making his NHL debut on Tuesday. The 20-year old logged 11:22 of ice time during his call up to help with recent injuries Florida has sustained. Personally, I liked the game he brought. He didn't try to do too much and kept things relatively simple. The Cats have enough defensemen who want to double as a forward and rush/get in deep. At 6'1" and 196 lb, I'd like to see Stillman develop into the defensive side (which the Panthers really need) on the back end. I think Ian McCoshen and Josh Brown are becoming this type of player and it would be nice to have another guy in the system playing a similar role. It's always good to have some size on defense (which McCoshen and Brown have) and a "less-is-more" mentality on the blue line. Having options to pair defensive-minded guys with two-way defensemen can be a really good thing.
It's unclear right now what the status of James Reimer is - who left the game 32 seconds into the second period after dropping down for a save. I thought Lu played well replacing him. Some of those saves late in the game were unreal - particularly the two in the last 30 seconds of OT. Incredible glove on the second one!
Of course, with the injury to Reimer, the Panthers announced yesterday that Sam Montembault has been recalled from the Thunderbirds. He's played 37 games for Springfield with a record of 13-14-8 and sits at a 3.16 GAA, which is right on par with Lu and Reimer. I'd like to see Monty Burns ("Excellent...") between the pipes and see what he's got, but I would bet that Lu gets the nod tonight in Vegas.
Speaking of which...
The Golden Knights were the big winners of the Mark Stone sweepstakes on Monday's trade deadline. Though they're not having the season they did last year, the Knights are still a very good team. They're currently in third of the Pacific Division. They have 71 points and are chasing the Sharks (82) and the surprising Flames (89). I suspect they'll close that points gap a bit since adding Stone.
We can't talk about the Vegas Panthers --err--Golden Knights and not bring up some familiar faces in Jon Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Brandon Pirri and Gerard Gallant - the latter stings pretty bad. While it's a topic for a different blog, the firing of Gallant maybe one of the biggest blunders of recent years in my opinion.
Anyways...
Marchessault and Smith are two of Vegas' top four point producers. Marchessault has 20 goals, while Smith has 26 assists. They're flourishing under Gallant's system and the cast of characters around them.
The Cats will need a full-team effort tonight to combat the speed and skill that Vegas possess throughout their lineup. This is where Florida's lower lines can really make an impact. Grinding it out to win board battles and working to keep the puck in Vegas' zone.
Looking forward to a fast-paced game. Make sure you put on a pot of coffee because it's going to be a late one...
Go Panthers!