Matt Ross: Cats Drop Opener, Rematch at Home Tonight

The 5-2 final score was misleading. The Panthers carried most of the play in the first 40 minutes, except for brief stretches. Vasi kept the Lightning in the game until the forwards shook off their funk and got their skates going in the third frame. Had Vasi not been sharp, the Cats could have put this game away early.

Bob was sharp overall, as to be expected. None of those goals were really his fault. Kucherov is Kucherov, his shot is deceptive and there was action in front of the crease. Bob didn't really get a good look at it. The Shattenkirk goal was a lucky knuckleball - it could have missed the net entirely. Palat's was a mid-air deflection - again, not Bob's fault. This is how teams must get pucks past a goalie of his caliber. Give him a good look at it, and 99.998% of the time he is going to stop it.

I just hope tonight's game is clean and nobody gets hurt. I look forward to it.

PS - Stralman did look good. He's still got gas in the tank. His foot speed is declining, but he is still very very smart with the puck.

Better tighten up the PK or, even better, stay out of the box against Tampa. Officially the Lightning were 1 for 3 on PP, but really were 3-3 as they twice scored within a second or two of PP ending. And their first goal was on a 6v5 during a long possesion on a delayed penalty call. So pretty much four PP goals and an empty netter. FL looked pretty good 5v5, but Vasy was a wall, again (even when FL gets four by him, it shoulda/coulda been ten). The game was there for the taking, they just didn't do it. Still work to be done. They're gonna be good.
Hawryluk in for Malgin tonight. Headed down to Sunrise for tonight's game. Go Panthers!

The 5-2 final score was misleading. The Panthers carried most of the play in the first 40 minutes, except for brief stretches. Vasi kept the Lightning in the game until the forwards shook off their funk and got their skates going in the third frame. Had Vasi not been sharp, the Cats could have put this game away early.

Bob was sharp overall, as to be expected. None of those goals were really his fault. Kucherov is Kucherov, his shot is deceptive and there was action in front of the crease. Bob didn't really get a good look at it. The Shattenkirk goal was a lucky knuckleball - it could have missed the net entirely. Palat's was a mid-air deflection - again, not Bob's fault. This is how teams must get pucks past a goalie of his caliber. Give him a good look at it, and 99.998% of the time he is going to stop it.

I just hope tonight's game is clean and nobody gets hurt. I look forward to it.

PS - Stralman did look good. He's still got gas in the tank. His foot speed is declining, but he is still very very smart with the puck.
- GalacticStone

Hey GalacticStone,

Thanks for chimming in and I agree with everything you wrote! In fact, I was going to write in my blog that the score was misleading. If you take away that empty net goal, it’s a 4-2 game.

Stralman surprised me. I have to admit that I didn’t know what to expect from him, but his decking footspeed has opened up other facets of his game and he looks very cerebral out there - which the Cats desperately need on the back end.

I’m hoping for a fast, grudge match of a game tonight!

Better tighten up the PK or, even better, stay out of the box against Tampa. Officially the Lightning were 1 for 3 on PP, but really were 3-3 as they twice scored within a second or two of PP ending. And their first goal was on a 6v5 during a long possesion on a delayed penalty call. So pretty much four PP goals and an empty netter. FL looked pretty good 5v5, but Vasy was a wall, again (even when FL gets four by him, it shoulda/coulda been ten). The game was there for the taking, they just didn't do it. Still work to be done. They're gonna be good.
Hawryluk in for Malgin tonight. Headed down to Sunrise for tonight's game. Go Panthers!
- Ratsreign

Better tighten up the PK or, even better, stay out of the box against Tampa. Officially the Lightning were 1 for 3 on PP, but really were 3-3 as they twice scored within a second or two of PP ending. And their first goal was on a 6v5 during a long possesion on a delayed penalty call. So pretty much four PP goals and an empty netter. FL looked pretty good 5v5, but Vasy was a wall, again (even when FL gets four by him, it shoulda/coulda been ten). The game was there for the taking, they just didn't do it. Still work to be done. They're gonna be good.
Hawryluk in for Malgin tonight. Headed down to Sunrise for tonight's game. Go Panthers!
- Ratsreign

Hey Rats,

Agreed, man. I thought FLA looked good overall. Some areas need to be tightened up, as you eluded to. But you can see some of the pieces coming together and that’s exciting.

I’m down with Hawryluk getting in. They’ll need some sandpaper I. The lineup tonight.

Have fun at the game! Let me know how the buzz is in the barn

Hey GalacticStone,

Thanks for chimming in and I agree with everything you wrote! In fact, I was going to write in my blog that the score was misleading. If you take away that empty net goal, it’s a 4-2 game.

Stralman surprised me. I have to admit that I didn’t know what to expect from him, but his decking footspeed has opened up other facets of his game and he looks very cerebral out there - which the Cats desperately need on the back end.

I’m hoping for a fast, grudge match of a game tonight!
- Matt Ross

Stralman was one of my favorite underrated D-men in his prime. Very cerebral, as you said. He's smart, sees everything, and anticipates well. He also has a good hip check, which I notice he barely uses any more. I would have been fine if Tampa kept him and I think he's at least as good as Coburn. Coburn was willing to sign at a discount on short term, so Stralman became a cap casualty. I was sad to see him go. He's a warrior and he will benefit your backend greatly, even if his skating is not what it once was.

The Lightning looked sloppy to me for most of the first half of the game. Some of that I attribute to opening game cobwebs. But, a lot of credit goes to the Panthers' tenacity. They keep Tampa off-kilter with a combination of good forechecking and disrupting neutral zone passes. However, when Tampa finally got going, the ice started to tilt a little. But I was admittedly nervous for a while until Maroon practically put the game away with that 4th marker.

I expect tonight will be a very entertaining game. From this outsider's perspective, the Cats felt a little different in that last game (in a good way, more like a contender). These games will not easy wins for Tampa any more.

Stralman was one of my favorite underrated D-men in his prime. Very cerebral, as you said. He's smart, sees everything, and anticipates well. He also has a good hip check, which I notice he barely uses any more. I would have been fine if Tampa kept him and I think he's at least as good as Coburn. Coburn was willing to sign at a discount on short term, so Stralman became a cap casualty. I was sad to see him go. He's a warrior and he will benefit your backend greatly, even if his skating is not what it once was.

The Lightning looked sloppy to me for most of the first half of the game. Some of that I attribute to opening game cobwebs. But, a lot of credit goes to the Panthers' tenacity. They keep Tampa off-kilter with a combination of good forechecking and disrupting neutral zone passes. However, when Tampa finally got going, the ice started to tilt a little. But I was admittedly nervous for a while until Maroon practically put the game away with that 4th marker.

I expect tonight will be a very entertaining game. From this outsider's perspective, the Cats felt a little different in that last game (in a good way, more like a contender). These games will not easy wins for Tampa any more.
- GalacticStone

I’m with you on all this, GalacticStone.

I did think the Cats were sloppy at points, too (especially in the first). They also missed some good opportunities to get get pucks to the net, opting instead to try and force passes, etc.

Should be a fun one tonight!

Bob-robbed-ski made a few unbelievable saves last night. Holy schnikies, jaw dropping, how the hell did he get that? type of saves.
Noel (frank)ing Acciari! Yeah buddy! I love this guy on the Panthers. Dude never met a check that he didn't finish. His goal was a show of his hands, too. He set it all up by plastering Shattenkirk in the corner, and then beating the crumpled mess to the net front and patiently put one behind Vasy before Shattenkirk arrived.
Huberdeau's passes to set up Hoff's first two goals were so sweet.
The big crowd went nuts when Q was introduced during pregame.

Bob-robbed-ski made a few unbelievable saves last night. Holy schnikies, jaw dropping, how the hell did he get that? type of saves.
Noel (frank)ing Acciari! Yeah buddy! I love this guy on the Panthers. Dude never met a check that he didn't finish. His goal was a show of his hands, too. He set it all up by plastering Shattenkirk in the corner, and then beating the crumpled mess to the net front and patiently put one behind Vasy before Shattenkirk arrived.
Huberdeau's passes to set up Hoff's first two goals were so sweet.
The big crowd went nuts when Q was introduced during pregame.
- Ratsreign

Cats deserved that one. Bob was solid and the whole team was pretty solid.

Cooper is showing why Torts outcoached him in the playoff collapse. Coop insists on putting Shattenkirk on the top pairing and the PK. It's absolute insanity and wishful thinking. Shattenkirk was never a top-pair guy and he certainly isn't penalty kill material. Cooper insists on weighing down Hedman with unsuitable partners. Hedman hasn't had a good partner since Stralman.

Stralman looked good, BTW.

Good win for the Panthers! Big crowd at BB&T. Usually the big crowds leave disappointed but not this time. Acciari's goal was incredible; I didn't know he had moves like that in his repertoire.

Bob won the game. He made some spectacular saves and is going to be the difference in a lot of games for the Panthers this year. He is worth the contract!

Barkov's line was shut down pretty well by Tampa over both games. In the past, that's been key to stopping the Panthers. It's nice to know we can win without them carrying a 25-minute load and opponents need to worry about other players and lines now.

Now we need to carry the same intensity through the full game vs Carolina.

Go Panthers!