I have to admit...I had my doubts on Thursday night as to whether the Panthers could find success in San Jose.
I'm always optimistic, but with the way the Sharks have been playing, it was certainly a tall order for the Cats.
However...the guys pulled it off with a 4-2 victory, and in the process, pushed their win streak to three games and ended the Shark's at six!
Monty continues to shine and he's earned the respect and confidence from his teammates. In his post-game interview, Hoffman had this to say about the young goalie:
"We got confidence with him. He plays the puck extremely well back there, helps our D out on breakouts, and he's deserved the games that he has gotten so far. I think he's got a bright future."
Monty is expected to make his fourth start today in LA and why not? We've talked about it before, let's ride this dude's play/energy and what he does for this team and see what happens.
He currently sits at a 2.24 GAA and .911 save percentage in his first four starts and has a 3-0-1 record...not too shabby and certainly a bright spot in this bizarre/frustrating season since taking over in the blue paint.
I like what I'm seeing in the projected lineup (below). I'm happy that Boughner is sticking with what's working. Hey, if it's not broke, don't fix it. The Panthers have been rolling a four line team these past three games and the results are in the wins.
Again, I'm loving that third line. Great to see Hunt find the back of the net again Thursday and it was a huge goal.
The defense has also tightened things up. I think the pairings as of late have really helped stabilize the backend. It's not perfect, but it's serviceable and better than it has been. While it still needs to be addressed this summer, I think the pairings have helped it take steps in the right direction.
Sam Montembeault
Roberto Luongo
Forwards
Jonathan Huberdeau - Aleksander Barkov - Evgenii Dadonov
Frank Vatrano - Vincent Trocheck - Mike Hoffman
Dryden Hunt - Riley Sheahan - Troy Brouwer
Jamie McGinn - Henrik Borgstrom - Jayce Hawryluk
Defense
Mike Matheson - Aaron Ekblad
Keith Yandle - MacKenzie Weegar
Mark Pysyk - Josh Brown
Goalies
Healthy Scratch
Ian McCoshen, James Reimer
Still Injured
Colton Sceviour (wrist), Denis Malgin (lower body)
Litter Box Cats posted a recap yesterday that had a nice little break down regarding what needs to happen (outside Florida's control) for the Panthers to have a chance to still making the post-season happen:
"The victory, which ended San Jose’s six-game winning streak, pulled the Panthers back within seven points of the idle Columbus Blue Jackets with 12 games left on the slate for each team. Florida, who got help last night from the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals, who beat Montreal and Philadelphia, respectively, need Carolina to take out the Blue Jackets tonight at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The Panthers need to keep winning and Columbus needs to collapse, but hey, as of this morning, that could still happen."
The bad news?
Behind the stellar play of Bob (who posted a shutout), Columbus picked up the W last night against the Hurricanes - gaining two more points in the process.
With the way they're playing, I think the Cats have a real opportunity to close the gap on the Jackets if the right combination of things happen.
While anyone can be beat on any night, the Panthers have a great opportunity with the Kings today and the Ducks tomorrow - two teams that have struggled mightily this entire season. Picking up these next two wins (hopefully) and stretching that streak would be huge - especially since Columbus has two powerhouses (Boston and Calgary) to face off against in their next tilts.
At 25-37-8, the Kings are in last place of the Western Conference and completely directionless at this juncture - even star Defenseman Drew Doughty cited this when speaking about recent call-ups for the team.
The last time these two teams met, the Cats came out on top 6-1. It would be nice to see another effort and outcome like that today.
Besides Florida's big guns (Barkov, Hoffman, etc.) that are doing everything right lately, keep your eye on Hunt and McGinn today...I have a feeling they're going to have big games.
Monty with the goose egg?
Go Cats!
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