* Update - season suspended *
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With the NBA’s decision last night to suspend their season due to COVID-19, attention turns to NHL leadership who is expected to make an announcement at some point today regarding their season.
It was announced earlier that teams were told to forgo practices today and now this news just broke:
Until an official announcement is made regarding the fate of this season, we’ll continue with business as usual and bring a quick Panthers game day blog your way so we have a place to chat about the game and news to come...
The Cats are on a two-game streak and will clash with a Dallas team that has lost six in a row.
At 37-24-8, the Stars are sitting in third of the Central Division. But similar to Florida, Dallas has had scoring woes, too.
Their “big three” in the points production department are:
Tyler Seguin - 50 pts
Jamie Benn - 39 pts
Miro Heiskanen - 35 pts
I’m a fan of watching that third guy (Miro) operate. While he’s not the typical style of defensemen I gravitate towards, the silky smooth skating ability and stellar hands/vision is just awesome to watch.
I’ve always thought Dallas was a fun mix of speed/skill, that also incorporated some heavy play from guys like Benn, Radulov, etc. Truth be told, I forgot they added Joe Pavelski, who has a respectable 31 points (14 G, 17 A) in 67 games. I also forgot the pesty Corey Perry is on the roster...ugh.
Defenseman John Klingberg has three points (2 G, 1 A) in the past five games and seems to always be in the mix and on the offensive side of things, so the Cats will need to be aware of where he is each shift.
Dancing With the (Not) Stars
Something has clicked for the Panthers this past week or two. It feels like they started putting it all together with that Boston game (despite the loss).
There’s been a different team on the ice and it’s due in part to the secondary guys - and at the core is Chris Driedger.
Everything tightened up when he returned. I wrote about it in my last blog, but it’s worth mentioned again that he has some kind of “x” factor that calms this team down and gets their head on straight.
Not only that, but it’s interesting to see the supporting cast getting the job done and not the main actors. Guys like Barky and Huby have disappeared. Barky is pointless in six games and Huby has one goal and one assist in seven games - a far fall from his All-Star status. Hoffman continues to plug away, but it’s disappointing to see the big two and some of the others have dried up.
To me, there’s a noticeable pep in the step of Vatrano, Saarela, Wallmark, Sceviour and Acciari (who always brings it). I’ll throw Mr. Up and Down (Connolly) in this group because he had himself a nice game against STL.
Could it be that Q’s program has finally fully taken hold?
There’s no doubt these guys look to be “getting it” now and have come together defensively as a team. A lot more guys are selling out and willing to block shots - and doing it. This is something Q has always stressed with his teams. Forwards getting back and helping defensively is another major Q trademark. We’re seeing more forwards breaking up plays. In fact, I feel like Haula has been improving in this category.
Only being one point behind TOR for that third spot...I say keep things how they are and let it ride!
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Let’s pounce on this Dallas team and capitalize in their current skid...go Panthers!
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