Coming into Wednesday night Florida was on a four-game losing streak; be it low energy, sloppy play, or just bad luck, the Cats were in a bad slump. With division rival Toronto in town and what was reported as an intense Florida practice on Tuesday, the Panthers finally found their game again come game time. Physicality and net-front presence was back for Florida, strong special teams, and Barkov and Reinhart continue to be one of the most dangerous duos in the NHL. The Cats also got strong performances out of Ekblad and Samoskevich, who earned time on the top power-play unit in the third period.
Florida’s Identity Is Back:
Coming into Wednesday night’s game accountability was the sentiment from both the players and HC Paul Maurice as each said that the losing streak was on them. Florida came out and set the tone early in the match with heavy physical play, plenty of forechecking, and getting players to the front of the net. All the main things that have been missing over the last four games and the Cats looked like themselves again. Even with Anton Lundell out of the lineup, he took a puck to the face Monday night and didn’t feel well enough to play, it was hard to tell that such a big part of the team was missing. Aaron Ekblad had one of his best games of the season picking up an assist on Barkov’s goal and making great defensive plays all over the ice. He was muscling Toronto players off pucks, disrupting passes, or getting into shooting lanes to prevent shots. Mackie Samoskevich had a great game as well scoring a goal and making lots of small plays to tilt the ice in favor of the Cats. Mackie had such a good night that HC Paul Maurice slotted him in on the top power-play unit and moved Verhaeghe down to the second unit with Rodrigues and Bennett. Samoskevich may not play as many minutes as the top six guys but he makes the most of his time on the ice and has been a very positive presence for the Cats. Kulikov set the franchise record for hits as well and a Sam Bennett goal means another shelter animal gets their adoption fees paid for. Florida looked like Florida again and can ride that momentum into the back-to-back against Carolina at the end of the week.
Special Teams Difference:
There wasn’t much scoring to be found at even strength. Florida dominated the special teams game scoring three goals; two from the power-play and one short-handed. Barkov opened the scoring on the team’s first power-play of the night, Verhaeghe scored on the third-period double-minor power-play, and of course, Reinhart scored short-handed. The PK killed off two of the three Leafs’ power-plays and the one they didn’t kill off was the one that Reinhart scored on so it evened out. There was strong pressure on the PK and kept the Leafs to the outside for most part. Bobrovsky made the saves when the team needed them. He ended the night with a .958 SV% and stopped 23 of 24 shots, they say your goalie needs to be your best penalty killer and Bob was just that. The Panthers’ special teams has struggled over the last stretch of games but found its groove against Toronto. The mix-up on the power-play personnel paid off and Mackie looked good on the top unit, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep him there and have Verhaeghe on the second unit to spread out the dangerous scoring ability.
Dynamic Duo: Barkov & Reinhart
Reinhart may not wear a letter on his chest but he’s a leader on this Panthers’ team in many aspects. He leads the team in points, goals, and assists (tied with Barkov). Reinhart currently leads the NHL in goals (17) and short-handed points, with 32 points on the year. Barkov after missing eight games has come back better than ever, he has 5 goals with 16 assists. What’s most impressive to me is how good in the faceoff dot he’s been, on the year Barkov is at a 65.9 FO% winning 137 and losing just 71; the next closest is Lundell at 50.5 FO% (166-163). Barkov’s improved his game from last season since he’s missed eight games he’s averaging over a point a game with 21 points in 15 games. His chemistry with Reinhart is a rare thing to find, they have such good awareness of where each other are on the ice. A great example is Barkov knowing that Reinhart would jump up in the short-handed rush chance and left the drop-pass for him to pick up in the slot which Reinhart shot to score. Their chemistry took time to develop but now that it has it’s causing problems for their opponents.
HC Paul Maurice said in his post-game media availability that he expects Lundell to play against Carolina and that he was almost ready to play Wednesday. The Panthers have a back-to-back against the Hurricanes on Friday and Saturday.
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