It’s a cold, overcast morning with frost covering the ground and glistening on rooftops as far as the eye can see. It’s one of those sleepy mornings that makes you want to stay in bed all day.
It feels a lot like how the Panthers looked in the first period of the Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Sleep walking.
I had the Cats in the “L” column after going down 3-0, and especially when it was 4-1. I have to stop doing that.
I have spent a lot of time and energy in the pages of these blogs writing about my frustrations with the “Comeback Cats” moniker and style of play. They’re too good to play from behind as often as they do.
But at this point, why get frustrated? I’m just going to embrace it. At least these guys have the ability to battle back, right? It makes for exciting games - though it sort of feels unnecessary considering their talent and ability.
Maybe this is just who these guys are? If they’re not going to control a game and win it outright, they’ll battle back and make it interesting.
The latter is the Panthers we’ve come to know over the past the few season. The “Comeback Cats” or “Cardiac Cats” if you prefer a more dramatic twist. Not dominant like you expect them to be majority of nights, but, rather, taking the Muhammad Ali “rope-a-dope” approach with opponents: Come out flat, give up some goals and lure the opposition into a false sense of victory, only to come alive in the second or third period to snatch the win away from a bewildered foe.
Hit the showers, then the town.
In the excitement of the 7-4 comeback win over the Sabres, you may have missed a couple key things:
1. Reinhart took it to his former team by having a career night when he out up four points (1G, 3A). This performance came on the heels of his game-winner in (another) comeback victory against the Washington Capitals. Reinhart now has 17 points (6G, 11A) in 23 games this season.
2. Huby became the first player in franchise history to get three-plus assists in consecutive games. He had a five-point game against Buffalo (1G, 4A). He had three assists in the comeback win against the Caps and has been an absolute lightning rod for scoring opportunities as of late - the Cats were 14-3 in scoring chances against the Sabres at 5-on-5 when he was on the ice.
And so the “Comeback Cats” turn their sights to the St. Louis Blues, where the two teams will clash in a Saturday afternoon game. The early games have typically not mixed well for the Panthers.
The Blues are in second of the Central Division and have a talented and rugged team. If you can believe it, the last time these two teams met was prior to COVID 2019-2020.
I’m expecting a really good game. I feel like the Cats will be tested physically and this matchup can turn into an old fashioned hockey slobber-knocker really quick.
Binnington, Faulk and Bozak are all out for STL due to COVID protocol. In addition, David Perron has been out with a UBI since late November. So it’s a good time for the Cats to strike.
Some interesting stats heading into today’s game per the Panthers
site:
-
Sam Bennett has notched two goals and eight assists in 12 career games against the Blues.
- Aaron Ekblad leads Florida with eight goals at home this season.
- The Panthers have posted a 26-3-0 record at home dating back to March 13.
- Florida leads the NHL with 681 shots on goal, including firing off 96 over their last two games.
- The Panthers lead the NHL in takeaways (270) and rank fifth in hits (592).
Enjoy two of the best going at it today!
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Time to hunt…Go Panthers!
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