Who’s missing players? It certainly didn’t look like the Panthers were in their match against Detroit on Thursday night. After struggling offensively for the last month or so, the Cats finally scored more than three goals in a game, something they haven’t done since their 4-0 shutout against Buffalo in early March. The defense stepped up and provided vital setups for the goals. The highlight of the night was Brad Marchand scoring his first goal as a Florida Panther. The team is building great chemistry with some new faces in the lineup despite key pieces being out. Florida also got great news on Thursday as Aaron Ekblad was cleared by the NHL and NHLPA to partake in team activities so he was at morning skate for the first time since his suspension. HC Paul Maurice added another achievement to his resume as he now has the third most wins in NHL History at 915.
Offensive Defense:
The Florida defense stepped up as big contributors for the offense against the Red Wings. Four defensemen combined for six assists on the Cats’ goals. Schmidt had the primary assist and Forsling had the secondary on Evan Rodrigues’ power play goal. Forsling made the pass to Schmidt, who sent it to Rodrigues. Evan then drove to the net and squeaked the puck under the arm and over the pad of Cam Talbot to tie the game 1-1 just under three minutes into the second period after DeBrincat opened the scoring in the first. Balinskis made a great play in the defensive zone that allowed Forsling to get a shot off, but it was blocked. However, Mackie Samoskevich picked up the blocked puck, did a spin move, and fired a shot that went in top shelf for the 2-1 lead. It was an impressive move from the rookie, who was playing with Barkov and Reinhart while Verhaeghe got the day off. His game-winning goal was the fifth of his career, and he earned third-star honors. Taking a pass from Luostarinen, Balinskis drove toward the net and set up Brad Marchand for the 3-1 lead, which Florida carried into the final twenty minutes of play. Balinskis’ two-point night earned him second-star honors. One more defenseman got on the score sheet, and that was Seth Jones. Reinhart won the faceoff clean back to Jones, who ripped a shot from the blue line. With Barkov in front of the net, he tipped it home for the eventual 4-1 win. Barkov, with that goal, achieved a major career milestone, becoming just the third Finnish player in NHL history to have 10 career 20-goal seasons behind Jari Kurri (13) and Teemu Selanne (17).
Brad Marchand, The Florida Panther:
Since his debut game against Utah, Panther fans have been eager to see Marchand score his first goal as part of the Cats. Late in the third period, Marchand scored the insurance goal as he put the puck over the glove of Talbot off a great feed from Uvis Balinskis. Marchand spoke to the media earlier this week about feeling more comfortable with the team, and he’s been talking more. He didn’t want to step on any toes in his first few games and said that he’s not playing his best when he’s quiet. Over the last couple of games, he’s been playing on what would be the Panthers’ third line with Lundell and Luostarinen and has been more vocal with them. It’s quickly become a line that HC Paul Maurice likes a lot. For as much as Cats fans want to see the Rat Line of Marchand-Bennett-Tkachuk, I think the smarter move would be to leave the top six as is with Samoskevich-Bennett-Tkachuk as the second line and Marchand playing right wing on the third line with the young Finns. His goal earned him one of the loudest cheers in the building after it was announced over the speaker, and he was all smiles on the bench. When he spoke to Panther reporter Katie Engleson after being announced as the first star, he spoke highly of the group in the locker room and said that he feels very fortunate to be a part of such a special team. She also asked him about what looks to be a new tradition after a win, where Rodrigues and Barkov shoot rats at Brad. He jokingly said, “I don’t think I had a choice in that, they’re just bullying me. But we’re having fun, and you know when you win games, you know the fun comes out in many ways. It’s part of it.”
Team Chemistry Building:
One of the intangibles that gave Florida the edge over its opponents last season was its team chemistry. There were plenty of fans critical of the Tarasenko trade, and they said that he’d ruined the team chemistry. Oddly enough, prior to Sunday’s and Thursday’s games, a similar narrative had started to pop up around Brad Marchand. Putting him on a line with Lundell and Luostarinen, I think, will put that sentiment to bed, as that’s been one of Florida’s best lines and they’ve dominated opponents over the last couple of games. Nico Sturm returned from injury and had a solid first game back. Bobrovsky’s been in playoff form and is 11-2 at home since January 18th with a .944 SV% and a 1.30 GAA. HC Paul Maurice ran a Forsling-Balinskis pairing late in the second period and early in the third, and they didn’t look too bad together. Mackie Samosekvich looked right at home on the top line with Barkov and Reinhart, you wouldn’t even know he’s 22 just by looking at this game. As the Panthers are getting healthier, they’re getting into that terrifying playoff form that fans know the team possesses. Florida is blessed with great depth and has five lines they could roll in the playoffs. I’d expect that Sturm stays in as the permanent fourth-line center, but don’t be surprised to see the wingers rotate in and out; it’s exactly what the Panthers did last season with their bottom line. That allowed them to have fresh players in the lineup throughout a series or to provide a spark as needed. There’s a very real possibility that with a fully healthy lineup, the Panthers will put Evan Rodrigues down on the fourth line. Their forward depth is pretty crazy when everyone is available with plenty of movable players, which can give them a lot of different looks.
ITR 47: Then There Was Nothing – Inside The Rink
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