It’s been six days since the Panthers last took the ice. In that time, they shut out the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 3-0 and made a serious splash in the trade deadline - most notably adding Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot.
In fact, tonight will be Ben’s first game as a Panther and it just so happens to be against his former team the Montreal Canadiens.
Check out this lineup…nasty!
I’m hoping Hagg works as an anchor of sorts being paired up with Montour. Just a personal opinion, but Montour pinches in too often for me. I know he’s helped score some goals by being aggressive, but I feel like the majority of the time he’s below the goal line in the offensive zone, which forces a forward to have to stay back and leads to bad breaks for Florida the other way.
I’m curious to see what kind style Hagg plays and am hoping it keeps the Montour “maverick” mentality a bit more in check/grounded.
I’m looking for Chiarot to be a big, physical presence on the blue line going forward. My gut tells me he’ll have it in high gear against his former team tonight.
And then there’s Giroux…the 15-year veteran who appears to be very excited to be in Florida. Him slotting on the top line with Verhaeghe and Barky is one dangerous look. I’m expecting a lot of production from this group against a weaker MTL team and will make a bold statement that Giroux will net two.
Tonight’s matchup showcases two teams that couldn’t be more opposite. The Panthers are 42-14-6 and sit #1 in the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens are 17-36-10 and in last place of the Atlantic Division.
Florida is all-in and legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup. Montreal is in full-blown rebuild mode and a far cry from the team they were in the last season’s Stanley Cup Finals.
That being said…the Cats aren’t a lock to win. Sure, they should win, but we all know anyone can be beat any night and the Panthers had a pretty shaky start to their West Coast swing last week. With the time off and new faces in the lineup, it should be interesting to see how they come together tonight.
With a weak defense in MTL, and a high-powered offense in Florida that’s know for racking up the SOGs, does anyone want to take a guess how many shots the Panthers will have on net by the end of the game?
Winners and Whiners summed up what we might see in tonight’s tilt:
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I will be betting on the Florida Panthers to cover the puck line spread (-1.5) spread on the road against the Montreal Canadiens. I simply believe that the Panthers are too potent on the offensive end and the Canadiens are having too difficult of a time stopping the opposing team from scoring throughout the game. Montreal is giving up 3.8 goals per game, which is the most in the league and the Panthers are scoring the most goals per game, with 4.1. The Panthers will dominate possession of the puck in this game and will have plenty of chances to score on the Canadiens. Jake Allen will be in goal for them and he has one gone (6-16-4) this season. He won't be able to stonewall the Panthers and they will continuously beat him for goals throughout the game. The Florida Panthers are also generating 36.7 shot attempts per game, which is the most in the league. They will have multiple goal-scoring opportunities and they will cash in against this weak Montreal Canadiens team.”
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Can’t wait to see this lineup in their first action together. This is it. The deadline is over. The moves have been made. This is the final product. The lineup that Zito and co. Believes gives Florida the best chance to win the Cup.
Let’s see what they do going forward…Go Panthers?
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