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Claws and Blades - Panthers at Sabres

January 4, 2020, 10:03 AM ET [23 Comments]
Matt Ross
Florida Panthers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Here with a quick blog before today’s afternoon game...

The Cats proved me wrong on Thursday by managing to put up six goals again against the Sens. I thought it would be a bit tighter of a game, and while there was some sloppy play by Florida at times, it was a nice finish.

Hey, going 2/3 on the PP was encouraging, too!

Perhaps the best moment of the night belonged to Dale Tallon, who called out the players during and interview between periods. I have no doubt that the message was received loud and clear in the locker room. Nice work, Dale. These guys need/needed a wake up call.



In Buffalo

Florida faces off against the once-red hot Buffalo Sabres today.

Below is a nice blurb ahead of this afternoons game from Panthers Website Reporter, Jameson Olive that appeared on the Panthers site:

“While Florida's special teams continue to click, the Sabres will be without their top trigger man on the man advantage for a while as Victor Olofsson, who leads the team with nine power-play goals, is expected to miss the next five to six weeks while recovering from a lower-body injury that he sustained in the team's 3-2 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Leading all NHL rookies in scoring with 16 goals and 35 points in 42 games prior to the injury, the 24-year-old forward was recently named the league's "Rookie of the Month" for December.

"He will be gone for a few weeks now, we know that for sure," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said of Olofsson's status. "Of course he has been a very important catalyst to the good things that are happening here in the team and we need to fill that hole. [Other] guys need to step up."

Even though they're a bit banged up, the Sabres still boast one of the league's top scorers.

Ranking third in the league in goals (26) and eighth in points (54), Jack Eichel has recorded at least one point in 21 of his last 23 games played. In that span, the 23-year-old forward has filled up the scoresheet while racking up 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points.

"They're a team that you've got to respect," Quenneville said. "Jack Eichel's playing as good as anyone in the league right now, so we've got to be aware of him. We've got to do a better job with the puck against this team. We've got to get more inside like we've talked about the last couple of games. I thought we did a better job of that [on Thursday]. We're going to need that."

At 18-17-7, Buffalo trails Florida by four points in the Atlantic Division, but owns a 2-0-0 record in the season series between the two clubs thus far. Prior to snapping a four-game losing streak with their win over the Oilers, the Sabres had dropped seven of their previous eight games.

While neither team has confirmed a goaltender up until this point, Sergei Bobrovsky could get the nod for the Panthers, while Linus Ullmark goes for the Sabres. Bobrovsky owns a 15-11-4 record this season. Ullmark, meanwhile, has gone 12-11-3, including two wins against Florida.

"I think we need to play the right way, play the way we played in the [second period in Ottawa]," Panthers defenseman Riley Stillman said. "Keep buzzing and make plays at the right time, get the puck in at the right time and have our guys find the net and score goals when we need too."

Florida is currently averaging the third-most goals per game in the league (3.55).“


I always find games against the Sabres fun because not only is there a ton of talent on the ice from both ends, but it’s usually a fun goalie duel to watch. For whatever reason, the Sabres netminders seem to have the Cats number and it always makes for a good watch - but let’s hope Florida has Ullmark figured out a bit more this time around.

_______________________

Here’s to hoping the our guys can overcome these divisional rivals and stay ahead in the standings.

Go Panthers!



”Panthers hats rained down onto the Miami Arena ice in celebration of a Ray Sheppard hat trick on November 26, 1996. The Panthers won against the Buffalo Sabres, 4-3. Sheppard logged 5 hat tricks as a Panther, second-best in franchise history.”

(Above image and description courtesy of Florida Panthers Vault website.)
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