Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Game 2: Cats vs Hawks

January 18, 2021, 10:55 PM ET [23 Comments]
Matt Ross
Florida Panthers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
This is going to be a season in hyperdrive with quick turnarounds for games, so I’ll try and keep the blogs more concise - or as Q would say, “keep the blogs at a good pace...”

The Panthers started off their season with a 5-2 win against Chicago.

The rust was definitely there for the Cats for a good chunk of the first period. That’s not anything too unexpected considering pretty much every team had the similar starts their first game back after a fast 10-day camp and no preseason games.

Matching up against the Hawks was a good way to ease back into game action. As mentioned in the previous blog, Chicago is in a real transition phase, where the offense, defense and goaltending isn’t what it once was. While they have glimpses of some light, they have a lot of self-destructive tendencies.

Takeaways

Besides the slow and out-of-sorts play in the beginning, I think this team looked much improved defensively. In 15:01 of ice time, Gudas tallied three hits, an assist, four SOG and a +2 rating. Impressive debut, but what was even more impressive was the overall defense we saw on the ice.

Outside of the defensive pairings (which I liked), I saw guys like Wennberg, Loustarinen, etc., hustling back to help out in the Panthers’ zone. Yes, it’s only one game in, and against a weaker foe, but we could be seeing the beginning of the team Zito believes will be tougher to play against. They also did a good job of not allowing the Hawks to get too comfortable in Florida’s zone and establish any significant, sustained pressure.

My boss is a huge reports guy. Always wants to look at the data to see if the things we’re working on and the changes we’re making are trending positively for our customers. Looking at some of the data from last night’s game, seeing the Cats with 13 blocked shots to Chicago’s 4 is a very encouraging element. Shot suppression is huge and I hope that trend continues.

Of course, many eyes were on the Yandle situation and fans eagerly watched to see if he would play well after the semi-drama leading up to the game.

I didn’t notice a change in his play. He seemed like the same guy to me - at times shaky with the puck in his zone, offensive-oriented over defense and comfortable on the Power Play. But I’ll say this...those guys on the bench were ecstatic when he scored. I don’t think it was because it was his milestone 100th goal. I think the guy is highly-liked in the locker room and his teammates were really pumped for him after this past week. He even earned third star of the game. It will be interesting to see where this all goes...

I liked Tippitt’s speed. He almost got around Hawks’ defensemen a couple times, but he seemed to rely a lot of the old curl-away-towards-the-boards move after entering the zone a number of times. I would like to see him try and fight his way through a little more in game two.

Of all the new guys, I was especially impressed by two: Verhaeghe and Loustarinen.

Verhaeghe seems to have a “feel” out there and puts himself in a lot of good spots on the ice. Great positioning. Every time there was a good setup or scoring opportunity, it seemed like he was involved or on the ice. Good stuff from #23.

Loustarinen looks to have a lot of awareness and “sleeper” scoring ability that can be a real bright spot on this team. You know how you hear about a guy having an “NHL release”? This guy has it. His first career goal is a great example of it and any time Q says you have, “...real good instincts, playing both sides of the puck. Offensively, he’s a little niftier than you think,” you’re doing something right. Anyone that knows Q, knows he expects his players to help defensively, no matter who you are.



Driedger picked up right where he left off last season and looked great in net. I don’t know...last week Q mentioned Bob could be ready to go Tuesday, but maybe it’s better to let Driedger have this one - unless Bob is healthy and needs a tune up against a weaker Blackhawks team before going against a strong Hurricanes team?

Tonight’s Game Plan

I think it’s the same as game one. Focus on continuing to strengthen that team defense, get shots to the net with traffic in front (Hornqvist) and take advantage of mistakes Chicago’s young guys make.

I would also like to see the Cats come out faster and little more crisp - which I’m sure will happen with that first game under their belt.

This might sound crazy to say, but it would be great to see a convincing win.

“Hey, they won 5-2 the other night. What are you talking about?”

Very true, but I didn’t feel they really controlled or dominated the game like they probably could have. As mentioned before, the Hawks self destruction and general bad luck on some plays (de Hann inadvertently redirected one past Delia) certainly aided in Florida’s win.

Don’t get me wrong, you need that stuff some nights, but let’s not forget that the game was tied 2-2 at one point. This self-implosion is a trend that seems to be following the Hawks this season - as similar things happened in game two against the Lightning when Chicago closed the gap to 3-2, before ultimately losing 5-2.

Duclair was non-existent on Sunday, so let’s see if he can get going tonight.

Question: With all the defensemen options, do you think we’ll see guys rotating in and out these first few games? For example, when does Juulsen slot in?



____________________

Go Panthers!
Join the Discussion: » 23 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Matt Ross
» Struggling Panthers vs Struggling Islanders
» Panthers vs Flyers
» Florida vs Nashville: Apex Predator Mascot Showdown
» Woof!, Tampa Tonight, Paul Laus
» Pre-Postseason Taste: Cats vs Canes