The Cats closed out the three-game series against in-state rival/division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning with a 6-4 win on Monday night. They may have also reignited an old rivalry in process of this series - excellent.
The Panthers (9-2-2) find themselves in second place of the Central Division - just one point behind TBL. Their foe today, the Carolina Hurricanes, are nipping at their heels in third with a 10-3-0 record.
The Canes crushed CBJ 7-3 on Monday night and have been playing very well. They’re a fast team with a lot of skill.
The Panthers seem to struggle at times with opposition that have a number of speedy guys, so I’m hoping for a full-team effort defensively, but even more so....staying out of the box.
In the three games against the Lightning, Florida gave the Bolts 10 Power Plays. While Tampa only managed to go 3/10 (credit to the PK unit) the Cats have to be more disciplined going forward. They cannot continue to give the opposition multiple man-advantages a night, especially the highly-skilled teams.
Here’s some interesting numbers to keep in mind via
Litter Box Cats
“Florida stands 10th in the league in scoring with 3.31 goals per game this season. The Panthers are 19th in goals against by allowing three goals per contest. Florida is 6th in the league in power play success as they have converted 29.7% of their chances with the man advantage. The Panthers stand just 22nd in penalty killing as they successfully navigate 76.9% of their shorthanded situations on the year.“
How about a couple more from Tippett and Duclair?
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Would like to see the intensity the Cats had in many parts of the TBL series carry over moving forward...
Get those Hurricanes, Cats!
[Image from Reddit]
Go Panthers!
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