After edging out the Minnesota Wild in a low scoring, tight, SO affair on Monday, it was a tough look for the Cats on Tuesday when they wound up on the receiving end of 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues; a team barley above .500 that’s looking to unload a good portion of their roster.
While it was discussed a bit on the comments of the last blog, the big question (at least for me) is what do you do with Knight?
Granted, he hasn’t seen consistent NHL action for a while, but I don’t think that’s an excuse anymore. Knight has a good amount of experience under his belt.
As the backup, his role is to be ready to go when Bob needs a night off or in case of injury. As is with every net-minder, he is expected to deliver when between the pipes. Some times Knight does, some times he doesn’t. Like Jimbo pointed out last blog:
“As a anointed future-star NHL goalie, if he's not going to be up for an opportunity like that, during a playoff push against a team selling assets, when is he going to be ready? Very disappointing.…
I have had trouble placing my finger on what I think the “issue… is with Knight. After watching the loss to the Blues — and in fairness, I the team was sluggish from the night before — I think I have an idea…
For the sake of argument, take into consideration Alex Lyon. Unlike Knight, Lyon has not been billed as a future star, or as Jimbo put it “an anointed savior,… by the Florida PR machine. The two are far apart in both salary and NHL experience.
But the biggest difference is their playing styles — particularly their mindsets.
Knight is very technically sound. He’s like a Corey Crawford. There’s no flash. Instead, his movements are rooted in angles and having a more methodical approach to the position where he looks like a machine.
Lyon is the opposite. He relies on athleticism and flipping around, doing whatever he can to make the save.
Neither one is right or wrong as long as you’re stopping the puck.
But when I watch Lyon play, I see a gamer. A guy that’s zoned in doing whatever he can to prevent the rubber from getting by him. It may not look the prettiest and might scare you at times, but his compete level is high.
I don’t get the same feeing from Knight. He has the tools and ability, but that “killer instinct… doesn’t always come across to me.
Hey…it’s a new game tonight against a Caps team that sits in the middle of their tough division.
"These are the kind of games you hope to play at this time of year. We've got some work to do, and it starts with a big one tonight."@JamesonCoop has the scoop on tonight's game! 📝
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) February 16, 2023
Go Panthers!