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Cats and Kraken

January 23, 2022, 11:43 AM ET [23 Comments]
Matt Ross
Florida Panthers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The old 9-to-5 has been flexing its muscles as of late and has me at the mercy of deadlines and commitments, so I apologize for a lapse in blogs.

With that in mind, I wanted to get a fresh piece out there for you guys for tonight’s tilt against the Kraken.

After a disappointing start to their road-trip, being beat 5-1 to Calgary, the Cats responded by downing the struggling Oilers by a score of 6-0, with Bob earning the elusive Florida shutout. They then traveled to Vancouver where they pulled off a 2-1 SO victory by grinding it out behind the solid play of Knight - and some impressive moves by Lindell and Barky.

The level of play the Cats were at heading into this road-trip had me thinking they would finally get over the away game hump and steamroll the competition this time around. But so far it’s been a mixed bag in terms of play/consistency this trip.

Florida is second only to Colorado this season in goals per game. The Kraken surprised the Cats last time these two met, with Seattle beating the Panthers at home. I don’t see that happening this time around.

Keep in mind that Knight was in net the last time these two met. Though he played well against the Canucks, he’s been very shaky otherwise this season. I’m thinking Bob gets the nod in this one.

Take a look at the stats from the back-to-back wins from our guys:



I thought Florida’s puck movement was much improved in that Canucks game. This is something that looks to be steadily improving to me on the road. There wasn’t as many errant/bad passing decisions as they typically make.

Chychrun

It seems the Chychrun sweepstakes are still plugging along. There’s an interesting chat going on in the comments section of the latest Litter Box Cats blog.

Since the asking price is high for Chychrun, some of the commenters are discussing some hefty trade targets AZ could ask for:

- Lundell, Knight, and our ‘23 1st (the reported asking price)
- Knight and our ‘23 1st
- Tippett, Denisenko and a 1st.

A hard ‘no’ to the first one simply because I don’t want to lose Lundell, as much as I like Chychrun. I’d be open to the second scenario and, honestly, the third as well.

Chychrun is on a nice deal ($4.6/next 4 years) for his age (23) and skill. He helps fill a need for the Cats and if it comes at the cost of Knight, Tippett and/or Denisenko and a pick, I would do it. It will sting for sure, but let’s face it, the Cats have to be all in and make some tough decisions ahead of the playoffs.

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Let’s get this W…Go Panthers!
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