One of those days. Slogged it through the ole' nine to five and navigated around everything else life likes to throw our way on occasion. It can be exhausting. Feel your chest heave as air fills your lungs with a long, slow breath.
Ahhhh...feels good.
Refocus. It's almost time for hockey.
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Everyone's favorite #55, Noel Accari, was nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
The Masterton Trophy is awarded each season to the NHL who exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Here is the announcement from the Panthers website:
"The South Florida chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) announced today that Florida Panthers forward Noel Acciari has been selected as the club's 2019-20 nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
Acciari, 28, appeared in 66 games during his first season with Florida, registering career-highs in goals (20) and points (27). On Dec. 16, Acciari produced his first career multi-goal-game and first NHL hat trick, tallying three goals against the Ottawa Senators. He followed this performance with another hat trick in Florida's next game on Dec. 20 against the Dallas Stars, posting four points (3-1-4), completing his second consecutive hat trick on his first career penalty shot attempt.
With his consecutive hat tricks, Acciari joined Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Bure (Feb. 10-14, 2001) as the only two players in Panthers franchise history to register hat tricks in consecutive games and was named the NHL First Star for the week ending Dec. 22.
The 5-foot-10, 203-pound native of Johnston, R.I., completed the 2019-20 season leading all NHL forwards with 103 blocked shots. He led the Panthers in game-winning goals (5) and hits (121), while averaging the club's sixth-most TOI per game (15:58).
Acciari signed a three-year contract with the Panthers on July 1, 2019, following a trip to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final with the Boston Bruins in which he recorded four points (2-2-4) over 19 games and sustained a broken sternum.
The Masterton Trophy is awarded each season under the trusteeship of the PHWA to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr was the recipient of the 2016 Masterton Trophy and goaltender Roberto Luongo was a finalist for the award in 2018.
The Masterton Trophy winner is selected from a poll of the 31 chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season.
A $2,500 grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the winner.
The PHWA first presented the Masterton Trophy in 1968 to commemorate the late Bill Masterton, a player with the Minnesota North Stars, who exhibited to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died January 15, 1968 following an injury suffered in a game."
You know what I found surprising? I didn't know he was 5'10." He looks and plays a lot bigger than that out on the ice.
Either way, congrats to Acciari on this honor!
Yandle on Pizza
If you're not familiar with Barstool Sports and their pizza reviews, here's the gist: the founder of Barstool (Dave Portnoy) goes to different pizza joints and reviews/rates the 'zza. Sometimes he's joined by pro athletes and other guests. Today's episode was with Keith Yandle.
"He's not, like, my 'boy, boy'...he's my guy..."
Back On the Ice
You've probably been seeing posts from different teams showing players slowly trickling in back into practice facilities.
It sounds like the Cats have waited until today (Wednesday) to swing the drawbridge open to the practice facility. Looking forward to seeing guys back on the ice and getting ready for what lies ahead!
You know who else is? Coach Q:
On This Date
24 years ago, Panthers fans hearts sank when the Colorado Avalanche put a danger into Florida in the third OT of game four of the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, to win 1-0.
Relive and remember the crushing series and stats here
By the Numbers
NHL.com is continuing their look at the Panthers - Islanders series by breaking down some key numbers/areas of the game in a recent article.
Below is what they had to say:
"5-on-5 scoring
One concern from 2018-19 carried over for the New York Islanders this season: scoring. They ranked 22nd in the NHL in goals per game for the second straight season (2.78); the Florida Panthers were sixth (3.30). But the main difference between this season and last with the Islanders is that they are not getting the same shutdown defense. New York allowed the fewest goals per game in 2018-19 (2.33) but ranked ninth at 2.79 this season. Why is this significant? The Panthers scored the fourth-most goals at 5-on-5 (158) behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche (162 each), and the Toronto Maple Leafs (159). The Islanders ranked 25th in that category (126) and could fall behind early in the series if they struggle to score.
5-on-5 save percentage
Despite allowing more goals per game than last season, the Islanders could help offset this with goalies Semyon Varlamov and Thomas Greiss, who have combined for a .923 save percentage at 5-on-5, which ranked 10th in the League. But it could be cause for concern that after Varlamov started the season 14-3-3 with a .920 save percentage he went 5-11-3 with a .908 save percentage. This likely gives the Islanders slightly less confidence at the position than they had with Greiss and Robin Lehner last season. Still, with the Islanders expected to get back defensemen Adam Pelech (Achilles) and Johnny Boychuk (eyelid), and forward Casey Cizikas (lacerated left leg), Varlamov could return to form and give the Islanders the advantage in net against Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who ranked 44th in the League in save percentage this season (.900; minimum 25 games).
Scoring first
Florida was inconsistent this season, going 35-26-8, but what's interesting is that it tied for the seventh-most wins when scoring first (26) with the Vegas Golden Knights, Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes. This could be the difference for the Panthers in the series if they are able to apply pressure and score on Varlamov quickly. To try to minimize this trend, New York could focus on shutting down Florida's power play, which was tied for 10th with the Minnesota Wild at 21.3 percent.
One encouraging note for the Islanders here is that their penalty kill was slightly improved from last season, ranking 15th in the NHL at 80.7 percent (last season they were tied for 16th at 79.9). It may seem like a small difference, but consider Varlamov was tied for 19th in the NHL in power-play save percentage with Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets (.875; minimum 100 shots). Why does this matter? It shows the Islanders have improved as a whole on the penalty kill compared to last season, when they got slightly better goaltending out of Lehner (.888). If Varlamov can improve his play while shorthanded for New York, the penalty kill could limit Florida's opportunities to score first."
What do you guys think? Do you agree?
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