If you would have told any Panther fan at the beginning of the season there would be a game in mid-December where Shawn Thornton, Dylan Olsen, Rocco Grimaldi, Quinton Howden, Logan Shaw, Connor Brickley, and Corban Knight were all starting, they wouldn't have believed it. What would follow would be the common head in their hands assuming the season was already spinning out of control with such a rag-tag, AHLish lineup going against one of the best teams in the East in the Islanders.
The Panthers are the walking wounded right now. Nick Bjugstad is rumored to be suffering from a concussion, Jaromir Jagr is sick, Derek Mackenzie is nursing a knee injury, and both defensemen Steven Kampfer and Alex Petrovic have leg injuries. Dave Bolland was sent to the AHL for "conditioning." (sigh) No doubt organizational depth is being put to the test.
Last night's 5-1 win in Brooklyn against an Islanders team that was 8-0-2 in it's last ten games coming in was as shocking as it was refreshing. While Shaw, Knight, Brickley, etc. are not household names, they contributed to one of the more solid team wins this season. Roberto Luongo was simply sensational, as he has been most of this season.
Other youngsters that are being counted on now and in the future came through big time in a game that on paper looked like a complete mismatch. Reilly Smith, Sasha Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, and Jonathan Huberdeau all scored for the Cats, who have now won 7 out of their last 10 games.
This isn't 2009 where Florida needed to rely on guys like Byron Bitz, Victor Oreskovich, Kamil Kreps, and Shawn Matthias to carry the load when the team was dinged up. The depth GM Dale Tallon has created for this franchise is starting to shine through.
Injuries are part of the game. Every team has to deal with it. But to be down your 2nd best ceinter(Bjugstad), your leading scorer(Jagr), and best overall utility player(MacKenzie) and come out with a resounding win against one of the hottest teams in the league on the road is remarkable.
All in all the kids played very well and stuck with head coach Gerard Gallant's system. Although the Islanders outshot the Panthers 34-16, most of the damage was done in the first period where New York had a 19-2 advantage. After having 3 days off and a bit of a flu bug running through the locker room, it took 20 minutes for Florida to get their feet under them.
Jagr, Petrovic, and MacKenzie are considered day to day, with Jagr likely back tomorrow at New Jersey. Petrovic is on the trip with the Cats and has been skating, perhaps to return tomorrow as well. MacKenzie was sent home to rehab his knee so hopefully he will be ready to go at home Dec. 20th against the Canucks at the earliest.
Bjugstad and Kampfer are considered more serious and there are no set timelines on their returns.
Not that Tallon wanted to test his young players like this, but he has found out that he is about 7 deep at center and soon will be 9-10 deep on defense. That's a good problem to have at this time of year as teams are getting beat up.
The Panthers have a Devils/Hurricanes back to back before heading home for their traditional holiday homestand. Once they return home Friday night they won't be on the road again until January 5th. With how well they have been playing on the road that might not be such a blessing, but more importantly the Panthers are finally deep at most positions. They are now built to withstand the grind of a full season much better than year's past.
Dan Spiegel
Florida Panthers Media
Follow me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Join the Florida Panthers Insiders FB Page
Connect with me on Google Plus 
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»