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Shooting Star: Panthers in Dallas |
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Panthers Blog
I have to admit…the Cats surprised me on Tuesday night with their 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
And what a win it was!
I was expecting either a close game or super high scoring affair. We ended up getting the latter, with the scale tipped in Florida’s direction.
While I enjoyed the whole game, I thought the first period was especially fun to watch. It had a a real playoff atmosphere to it, with all the elements hockey fans are looking for: speed, physicality, chippyness and full of slick plays on both sides of the ice. As the game went on, the Cats took over and the rest is history.
The best thing about the win was that they filled the back of the net, while protecting their own - despite giving up a whopping 49 shots (hats off to Bob) - against a legitimate team, not a bunch of slouches. That was very encouraging to see.
What Hornqvist said in the post-game interview is exactly how the Cats need to keep approaching games. We don’t need all the razzle-dazzle, silky-smooth plays and over-passing. Keep it simple and work hard, boys.
And they will have a chance to continue this hard work tonight against the Stars when the Cats travel to Dallas - which they will be doing without Spencer Knight, who was added to the COVID protocol list.
So…will we finally see what Double J can do?
The Stars have had their ups and downs this season, struggling to find consistency and good play. They currently sit sixth in the Central Division (just about the Hawks and Coyotes). With the big win on Tuesday, I would expect the Panthers to run over Dallas, but not so fast…I feel like the Stars always give Florida some trouble when they meet.
The Stars haven’t played since December 20th, but they won in a big way against a big time opponent in the Minnesota Wild. In fact, Dallas’ offense exploded that game, finishing off the Wild by a score of 7-4.
Though they haven’t seen game action for a bit, they certainly entered the break on a good note and will most likely be looking to pick up where they left off, so the Cats better not get caught flat-footed.
Watch out for the usual suspects:
Benn
Seguin
Pavelski
Robertson
Heiskanen
Hintz
Klingberg
If the Cats play with the same intensity and attitude they had on Tuesday, they can handle any team in the league.
Things have been looking good for Florida since the COVID break. In a nutshell, let’s keep adding to the below stats from the current four-game win streak…
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See “ya’ll” in Dallas…Go Panthers!
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
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