The Cats came out and won their elimination game to stay alive and force a game four of this Round Robin tournament.
I’ll be honest and say I thought they were done after game two and that horribly undisciplined effort. Any time you give the opposition seven Power Plays (26 PIM) you’ve got some problems. It seemed like there was no way they couldn’t not be on the end of a broom stick in game three.
I’m happy to be proven wrong.
While not a completely convincing win, they tightened things up enough to survive.
One of the things we know about this group is that they seem to play best when in desperation mode. We saw that during the regular season when they would go into slumps. They needed those games where they fought and clawed (pun intended) for a win to get back on track. That style of play is how this team operates best.
That desperation came out in parts of the last game. An example that I liked was Haula blocking a shot from the point to help add to the Panthers total of 14 blocked shots for the afternoon. I’m a sucker for laying it on the line for the team. One of the cool things about this clip is when you look closely, you’ll see Acciari drop to one knee, fully ready to sellout and block the shot if it got past Haula. Love that commitment.
That was a serious rip that #56 took off the skate. I think he earned himself a beer from the boys and I bet Ekblad is buying:
Game 4 Plan?
I think you keep the lineup how it is. Two guys you need to score (Haula and Hoffman) found the twine and you had production from your fourth line with Boyle sneaking one past Varlamov. But the big guns HAVE to start scoring, and they need to do it at even strength.
Bob has played very well. Help him out by clearing the front of the net and keeping the chances to the outside when possible.
Never revert back to game two form. Stay out of the box. This Islander team is too talented to give them multiple advantages with an extra man.
Keep it simple, but most importantly:
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The Cats scraped by with a win in game three. New York will certainly come out guns blazing at noon and Florida needs to be ready. Take it to them first, before they can take it to you.
Get out there and get that W...
Go Panthers!
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