The Panthers look to bounce back tonight against the Capitals after Florida took a 4-1 beating at the hands of the Kraken last Saturday.
The story of that loss to Seattle (as discussed in last blog's comments section) was the atrocious display at the dot from the Florida side, No, your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. Seattle owned a 72.0 faceoff percentage.
72.0!
They annihilated the Cats at the dot and it showed in the final score. Add to that the fact that the
Panthers had 22 giveaways and it's a wonder Florida even had possession of the puck that night.
While any team can be beat on any night, being embarrassed in the faceoff circle and on the scoresheet to a bad expansion team might be grounds for the old, "We just have to forget about that loss and move on,” sentiment.
Maybe it shouldn't be. Maybe it should be a wake up call.
The Cats appear to be the real deal this year but have certainly had some up-and-down play since the coaching change. The Leafs have taken over first and the Lightning are biting at Florida's heels for second in the Atlantic, I'm not saying it's time to panic by any means. The Panthers have a very good team (regardless of some key injuries) but maybe it's time to that Zito steps up the head coach search a bit and brings someone in sooner rather than later.
While I initially thought the position might be Brunette's to lose (and it still might be), I'm starting to wonder if a bonafide coach is needed because talent itself doesn't always get the job done. I know from player comments that they appear to have a tremendous respect for Brunette but I wonder what kind of motivator he is and if he holds guys accountable, etc.? How does he run his practices, what's his vision, what is he driving home to the players? That's the kind of stuff I wonder about.
It could be that he's a great guy and a real "player's coach." Sometimes that works better as an
assistant and not a head coaching. Time will tell what Zito has planned but I'm hoping something is done in the near future. Again, I have nothing against Brunette, I'm just thinking he's probably not the guy going forward like I originally thought he could be when he took over.
Tonight
The game plan should be straightforward for Florida tonight against Washington, The Cats know they're going to be in a battle and playing behind again against these guys just won't do. The Caps are not only in first place of the Metropolitan Division, but the first in the league, and Ovi has been playing out of his mind - hence his hat trick against the Panthers the last time these two teams met.
Not repeating their dreadful faceoff percentage tonight will be a great way to stay competitive against a team that will punish you the more they gain possession from the dot. Another thing I noticed in Seattle's game that will be vital to fix tonight was the defensive zone positioning; Maybe it was just me but Saturday night saw the Cats pretty lost in the defensive zone - often standing still, players not picking up their guy, general lack of effort in board battles, etc. At some points it looked like when a really good men's league team plays a really bad one and the good team just keeps cycling the puck and has the bad one skating all over the place. They'll be dead in the water if they repeat this against the league's #1 big dog Capitals.
One thing that should help tonight is Bob will be back between the pipes, With a 13-9-1 record and owning a 2.03 GAA and a .936 SV%, Bob has bounced back from his previous season struggles to be a rock in the blue paint for Florida.
Kind of ironic, huh? Many people were screaming to get rid of Bob and let Knight take over as the #1 last year, but how are folks feeling about Knight now? Looking a bit different this year than he was last year, eh? I'd venture as far to say that Knight looks very average right now. Though he looked good in the (very little) sample size we saw of him last season, I always kind of felt that this season would see him playing like how he is. He's learning the game from a true backup position which is what I think is the best for his development. Let's hope that development trends upwards.
Let me ask you this…let's say we get into the playoffs, Are you comfortable with a Bob/Knight
tandem? Or would you rather have Bob and scoop up and experienced guy at the deadline as a backup if something happens to #72 in the playoffs? it's completely hypothetical. Remove any rules about Knight having to pass through waivers (is he exempt?), etc. Would you want this tandem in the post-season?
I personally would not. But I also don't want the Cats do the silliness they did in last year's playoffs where they bounced back and forth between Bob, Driedger and eventually Knight, I'm still miffed about that and could gone on a rant about it but I won't.
I'm saying this: If the Cats are still in a playoff spot come the deadline and both goalies are playing the way they currently are, I'm fine with shaking things up and taking a big swing to get the proper pieces that will give you best chance at getting the cup - even if that means departing with certain players/prospects. I think the goaltending will be one of the areas Zito will need to seriously consider when the deadline approaches...
Whiskers and Claws
It looks like Kiersted will be on the blue line tonight for the home team. I actually like this. He’s a good shot-blocker and I think he’s effective defensively and at moving the puck out of the zone via passing or his legs.
These are the pairings Jameson Olive saw during practice:
Weegar - Ekblad
Kiersted - Gudas
Carlsson - Montour
Connauton - Juolevi
And here’s your forward lines:
Huberdeau - Bennett- Tippett
Verhaeghe - Lundell - Reinhart
Vatrano - Thornton - Mamin
Lomberg - Luostarinen - Hornqvist
Perhaps the most interesting news is that both both Duclair and Barky were on the ice this morning. While their time tables to return are still unknown, it’s nice to see them getting into the rhythm of things!
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Hey, how about a big win agains the best team tonight? Go Panthers!
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