Catching the condensed game against the Kings, it looked like it was a pretty evenly matched/exciting tilt. Albeit a bit of a sluggish start for the Panthers.
One thing that stood out to me was that it looked like Florida missed a number of opportunities to step up and disrupt (or stop) attacking Kings players - opting to instead back up and defend from their heels, which only gave Los Angeles more room to operate and resulted in some nice chances for the home team.
It’s a shame the Cats couldn’t hold to finish it out in regulation, but that was a heads-up play by Durzi on the blue line. Great patience there, just wish Weegar could have gotten the stick in the shooting lane before Frk fired off that missle.
From what I saw, Knight looked pretty solid. How was he the whole game? His positioning looked good and he seemed to be soaking up a lot of the shots and not giving up too many rebounds. I hadn’t realized he is 3-1-1 with a .942 save percentage over his last four appearances.
While it would have been nice to start the road trip off with a win, going the distance with a tough opponent and gaining a point from it is nothing to hang your head about.
Heading into San Jose tonight, the Cats need to have that hot start and come out firing. The Sharks are looking to extend their winning streak to three when Florida comes to town. The Panthers could find themselves in a battle because the Sharks most recent win came against the Kings when San Jose pounded Los Angeles by a 5-0 score.
Though sitting second from last of the Pacific Division with a 26-25-7 record, Florida would do right to not take the Sharks lightly. There are a lot of points available on this road trip and the Panthers need to keep grabbing them to pad the cushion between them, Tampa and Toronto.
Marchy has been having a helluva year and will get a little “homecoming” of sorts tonight because his dad had spent some significant time as a player for the Sharks.
And of course it’s a big homecoming for the former-Shark and future HoFer Jumbo!
ICYMI
If you didn’t already know, Owen Tippett has been on a tear in the AHL this week - earning himself top honors as the AHL Player of the Week.
It makes me wonder:
- Is he just developing into a good AHL player and will continue struggling in the NHL?
OR
- Is he finding his groove down there and will finally catch on at the NHL level?
Either way, his trade value might be ticking upwards…
Trade Deadline
With the TDL vastly approaching and big chips like Josh Manson being traded from the Ducks to the Avs, a number of MTL players being held out of their game tonight, etc…where do the Cats stand?
What does Zito do in the coming days and weeks before/at the deadline..?
I still think Tippett, Acciari and Vatrano are gone. Might even lose more prospects like Denisenko and a couple other rostered guys, I just have a feeling.
Anyway…
Let’s get after these Sharks and gain a couple points in the process!
via GIPHY
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See you in the tank…Go Panthers!
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