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The Panthers came out of the gate as Chicago’s polar opposite. They’re unbeaten. But, the fallout from the league’s investigation is enough to turn the names that were in leadership at the time nearly toxic.
Florida’s hot start isn’t enough for ownership/management to sit tight and wait for more information. It looks like the Chicago investigation is going to affect Coach Q, as it’s rumored that the Panthers are looking to move on. Regardless, the Panthers are rolling. The systems are in place and in these cases, the assistants can usually run things while the front office works on options.
A couple of years ago I started calling Florida “The Peninsula of pain”. Tampa Bay has had Detroit’s number for a while, and Florida feels just as nightmarish at times. Right now, Tampa has had a rough start but the Panthers are rolling.
Bobrovski seems to have found his form, and in 5 games has a .946 SV% and a 1.79 GAA and without a shutout. Spencer Knight has 2 GAA and .923 SV%. Duclair is hot out of the gate with 5 goals in 7 games. The team is undefeated.
My favorite Panther: Barkov. Of course it’s not fun playing against him, but the big center would be such a nice get for anyone (if they were crazy enough to let him go). I was envious that Reinhart ended up in Florida, would have loved to get him as well.
Here’s the thing, Detroit isn’t the same team. The group is so much younger and so much more confident than we’ve seen in a while. This year feels like the fullest reset for Yzerman in his short tenure. The players on this team are there because he wants them there. I expect more flux, but you can see what he’s building. Seeing Larkin/Raymond/Seider in Overtime felt like the centerpiece of what the GM is creating. It definitely feels special.
Each game feels like a blank slate right now. The effort in Washington felt strong. There never seemed to be any panic or falloff. The team looked so different against Calgary and Montreal. But then, they exploded in Chicago and there was some carry over in confidence as they headed to D.C.
Many of you have been here the whole time, since I took over this blog. There was a disturbing “comfort” in understanding that the team was being disassembled. Larkin’s confidence on the mic and in the room seems to be more indicative of an older veteran. He’s had more control on the ice since the suspension, and I think the group is really coming together.
This feels like more of a “peaks and valleys” season is coming. Much more excitement than in the past several years, and consequently a much further drop in those games where things seem to fall apart. Game by game, we seem to be learning about the players. I thought Hronek had a strong bounce back after the scratch. So many players want to play for the team, for each other.
All of this is leading me to say, I have no idea what we’re going to see against Florida. In the past couple of seasons, I’d think that the cats would make life fairly miserable right now. This group could surprise us and give the Panthers one heck of a fight. This could be a game where tough lessons are learned. At the end of 60 minutes (or more) we’ll know a little bit more about this iteration of the Detroit Red Wings. I look forward to the lesson.
Read my previous posts:
Appreciating Gr8ness
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Raymond surprises NHL and EA Sports
Lucas Raymond got his first hat trick at 19
Wings vs Hawks postgame 
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