The Panthers wrapped up their preseason this week with two more games against the Lightning and one against the LA Kings. This week saw more of what the Cats’ roster will look like for this year. While Mackie Samoskevich has unfortunately spent the majority of the preseason battling an injury he did finally get into the game against LA and looked good playing on the third line with Lundell and Luostarinen. HC Paul Maurice was happy with what he saw and said in his post-game interview that Samoskevich looked very strong, very quick, and has elite NHL hands. Florida ended this week with two wins and one loss for an overall preseason record of 5-3.
Tampa Bay Back-To-Back:
Florida’s first game against Tampa this week had a lineup of what could be the Panthers’ defensive group for the season while the forwards were still split between the regular top six and players fighting for a roster/starting spot. This game was mostly 5v5 with the Panthers spending more time on the penalty kill while only getting one powerplay. However, that powerplay produced their only goal of the low-scoring game, with Sam Reinhart tipping in a Cater Verhaeghe shot. New acquisition Adam Boqvist is currently quarterbacking the top power-play unit and is doing a great job along with A. Boqvist, the Panthers’ powerplay, is working on some different looks in where players are at and how they’re moving. That way, teams can’t just hound Sam Reinhart in the slot where he did all his damage last season. The man advantage did go cold toward the end of last season and into the playoffs, thankfully the Cats were excellent 5v5 and didn’t need to rely on that type of advantage to win games. A less predictable powerplay should be an improvement over last year once teams figured out the Panthers’ game plan. Tampa vastly outplayed Florida in the faceoff circle with the Cats only winning 27 faceoffs to the Lightning’s 40. Florida took the edge in SOG and hits but ultimately took a 3-2 loss.
A younger lineup for the second straight game against the Lightning had only Lundell, Luostarinen, Gadjovich, and Mikkola starting as returning Florida players. The prospects and new players had a good game, taking a hard-fought 2-1 win over Tampa Bay with Dalpe and Vilmanis getting the Panthers goals. Spencer Knight had a great game, stopping 26 of 27 shots for a .963 SV%. Florida was a vastly more physical team with a 31-19 advantage in hits, a 17-8 advantage in blocked shots, and they were perfect for a second straight game on the penalty kill. Tampa held the advantage in SOG 23-27 and faceoffs 23-29. Overall it was a strong showing from players wanting to make an impression and new guys getting comfortable with Florida’s systems before the season starts.
LA Kings:
The final game of the preseason took place at a neutral site up in Quebec City. The Panthers rolled out what will likely be their starting lineup for the season, although there will still likely be changes on the fourth line with players that rotate. Nosek is projected to be the fourth-line center, but he’s out injured currently. Barkov notched a goal on the powerplay, as did Lundell, with Gadjovich scoring the other two goals for Florida to seal the 4-2 win. The Cats, this preseason, have been running their powerplay units with three defensemen, A. Boqvist on the top unit and then Ekblad and Balinskis on the second unit; so far, things are looking successful with the new additions. Unfortunately, with this game being out of the Florida market, I don’t have any of the nitty gritty stats to compare between the two teams, but LA did hold the advantage in SOG with a 15-28 differential, and Florida’s PK held strong for a third straight game with the Kings unable to convert on the man advantage. Bobrovsky had a good game, stopping 26 of 28 shots for a .929 SV%, and Ekblad garnered three points, all from assists. Florida ended its preseason on a high note and had strong showings from both prospects and new players alike.
Up next: Florida’s home opener against the Boston Bruins, weather permitting, and then two away games to Ottawa and Buffalo.
