Warming up from hitting the outdoor ice this morning for a little pond action, so keeping it short and concise for us this afternoon...
The Cats escaped with a point after a shootout loss to CBJ on Thursday. Overall I thought they looked pretty good, but there is a disturbing trend that’s emerging in the form of a lack of production outside of the first line.
They might be able to get away with it for a little bit, but these other lines need to start finding their rhythm and tonight/tomorrow are the games to potentially do just that. Looking at you, Huby...
With eight games played and a 2-5-1 record, Detroit finds themselves at the bottom of the Central Division. They have some bright spots and speed in the lineup, but the reality is that they’re in full-rebuild mode and should be a team the Panthers pounce on - get these other lines moving and building some confidence.
Bob will get the start and hopefully he’s one of the guys that benefits and gains some confidence. His career record against the Wings is 15-5-1 with a.936 save percentage, a 1.36 goals-against average and three shutouts. Let’s see what he can do tonight...
From the two games I’ve seen of the Wings, goaltender Jonathan Bernier has looked good to me. He didn’t have a lot of support, but held his own fairly well. Cats would be smart to get the puck on early and often to wear him and the Detroit defense down.
Transactions
It looks like Florida brass is going to give “the kids” another look and have promoted Tippett and Heponiemi to the active roster.
Ryan Lomberg was assigned to FLA Taxi Squad, which is interesting because this was one of the main guys Zito was pumping prior to the season - going as far to say multiple times that his playing style would make him a fan favorite. He’ll bae back in soon.
Gustav Forsling was placed on IR. Per Q, he will be out 1-2 weeks. I’m guessing the injury resulted from his collision with Driedger, where he catapulted over the downed goaltender.
Here is your projected lineup:
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair
Jonathan Huberdeau - Alex Wennberg - Patric Hornqvist
Frank Vatrano - Eetu Luostarinen - Brett Connolly
Aleksi Heponiemi - Juho Lammikko - Noel Acciari
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Markus Nutivaara - Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle - Radko Gudas
I wouldn’t mind seeing 2C and 3C swapping spots, but we’ll see.
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OK, boys...keep it simple and let’s get some more points. Go Panthers!
Florida Panthers Blogger • 
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