The Panthers are back home for their final extended homestand of the season. It’s a tilt between first and last place teams tonight as the Maple Leafs visit Sunrise.
The Numbers
[table id=TS02G76 /] [table id=IS02G76 /] [table id=GM02G76 /] * – Stats are courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and Hockey-Reference.comProjected Lineups
[table id=PF02G72 /] [table id=PD02G75 /] [table id=PG02G34 /] [table id=OF02G76 /] [table id=OD02G76 /] [table id=OG02G76 /]The Hat Trick
Shooting From the Backend: A quick, interesting stat. Florida Panthers defensemen combined for a 7.4 iCF/60 through the end of February. Since the beginning of March, however, they are shooting at a clip of 8.80 iCF/60. There is no overriding point here, I just find it interesting that the D has been active enough to individually add more than an shot attempt per 60 minutes.
On Willie Mitchell: The Captain has been in the Panthers news mix recently. Last week it was revealed that some doctors have advised the rugged defenseman to not play due to his history of multiple concussions. Yesterday, he joined the full Panthers practice for the first time in a couple months. He even held a meeting with the players at center ice.
It seems to me the end might be near for Mitchell’s career, and I think that’s a shame. I have statistical misgivings with his play, but from afar he strikes me as a great guy, and someone who the team can rally around. That said, I really hope if the rumblings about concussions are true that he does not put himself in danger. I don’t want to watch a player on the ice with the feeling that even a somewhat innocent looking hit could do big, long-term damage to him.
If he does indeed retire, I hope the Panthers find a way to keep him around.
Not Good, But Not Bad (Lately): With a last place team limping into town tonight, the natural reaction is to think this an easy game for the Panthers. You may want to pump the brakes on that sentiment though. Toronto is 6-4-1 in their last 11 games, and, if you recall, they were within a goal of the Panthers until late in their game a couple weeks ago. At that, the Panthers offense consisted of flukey bounces and empty netters. Nothing is a given in this league. Even a “bad” last place team like Toronto has won 27 games this season.
Closing Thoughts
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