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*Breaking: Brian Boyle Signs with FLA |
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As a big Brian Boyle fan, I’m excited to see he has signed with the Cats! It will be nice to have another physical presence, with some scoring touch and veteran leadership in the lineup for Florida...I’m pumped!
Below is the official announcement from the Florida Panthers website:
“Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Dale Tallon announced today that the club has agreed to terms with forward Brian Boyle on a one-year, one-way contract.
"With over 700 games played in the NHL and over 100 more in the playoffs, Brian brings a wealth of experience to our club," said Tallon. "He adds versatility and character to our lineup."
In 2018-19, Boyle, 34, appeared in 47 games with the New Jersey Devils (13-6-19) and 26 games with the Nashville Predators (5-0-5) recording a combined 24 points (18-6-24) over 73 games played. In the postseason with the Predators, Boyle registered two assists over three games.
The 6-foot-6, 245-pound native of Hingham, Mass., has played in 766 career NHL regular season games, producing 216 points (124-92-216) with the Nashville Predators (2018-19), New Jersey Devils (2017-18 to 2018-19), Toronto Maple Leafs (2016-17), Tampa Bay Lightning (2014-15 to 2016-17), New York Rangers (2009-10 to 2013-14) and Los Angeles Kings (2007-08 to 2008-09). He has played in 114 career playoff games, posting 30 points (15-15-30). He has reached the Stanley Cup Final twice in his career, in 2014 (NY Rangers) and 2015 (Tampa Bay), playing alongside new Panthers teammate Anton Stralman .
Boyle received the 2017-18 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication following his return to hockey after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.
The Boston College alum was originally selected by Los Angeles in the first round (26th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft.“
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It was a pretty interesting weekend for the Cats, who went toe-to-toe, but, ultimately lost to a very talented Colorado team. Only to bounce back the next night and sneak out a W against a team I heavily dislike, the Nashville Predators.
Blown Leads
One of the most frustrating things is watching your team blow a lead. For some reason, this has become commonplace for the Panthers and it was on full display this weekend.
Both games saw Florida up, only to let the opposition come back in. Unfortunately, I just don't feel a lot of confidence when the Cats go up in a game. It's almost inevitable that the lead will change hands at least a couple times. They just can't seem to get up and stay up (insert Michael Scott joke...)
Captain Obvious statement of the day, but...they need to be able to maintain a lead if they want to win. The East is stacked with teams primed to do some damage and the Panthers need to start stacking points early into this campaign when they can. There's no excuse for not sealing the deal in regulation of these weekend games. In my opinion, the Colorado game would have been a huge confidence booster had they done it.
Quick Hit Positives from Colorado
- Great to see Huby bury a pair and Connolly continue to find the back of the net; also...Huby was a legit offensive force out there - lots of great chances and solid play throughout all three periods
- Vatrano's shorthanded goal: I never new Frankie could move like that...awesome speed!
- Matheson looked nasty (in a good way) with the 3-on-3 OT. Really good hands out there and he continues to improve his game.
Quick Hit Positives from Nashville
- Monty looked good. He played confidently and big in his crease and made a number of fantastic/key saves for the Cats. It was really nice to see him hold his own in the shootout, which has been his Kryptonite.
- Malgin continues to play really well, even if that's to the dismay of some fans...ha!
- Connolly nets another one. That's three goals in two game. Very nice.
- Trocheck's shootout goal should hopefully get him going.
- Them Fourth Line Boys...Hunt and Sceviour get on the board with some apples and that fourth line continues to be the most consistent line for the Cats.
Man Down!
Something has certainly been up with Barky since the season started and the mystery continued Saturday night when he left the game after taking only three shifts in the first period. There has to be some kind of injury or something...
Hoffman Rumor
Did you guys see the Hoffman rumor that was on the site a couple days back? While he's been rumored to be in play since last season (and take it with a grain of salt), but EK recently reported that there is a belief Hoffman does not want to resign with Florida and that Calgary and Buffalo might have interest. There's a couple bad boys on that Buffalo blueline that I wouldn't mind seeing as part of the deal if it happened...
Borgy on Loan
The Thunderbirds announced that Borgstrom has been loaned to them by the Panthers. I think this is the best thing for him at this point. He can use some conditioning in the A and hopefully it will build is confidence up a bit.
Florida currently sits at 3-2-3. Lets start making that a lopsided number in the win column...
Go Panthers!
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