Summary:
There is no rest for the weary, the Panthers are back at it again tonight after a disappointing loss last night in Columbus. They make their way to Detroit, where they face a Red Wings team that continues to defy predictions of its imminent demise. Though not the powerhouse Cup contender they once were, the Red Wings early on have let it be known they should still be considered a perennial playoff entrant. This will be a good test for a Panthers team that has dominated possession for much of the last two games, but didn’t come up with the results in Columbus. Can the Panthers bring this yo-yo back up? On to the game!
Know Your Enemy:
Panthers All-Time Record v. Detroit: 7-13-3 with 5 ties
2013-14 Season Record v. Detroit: 3-2-0
Last Game: 2/6/14 @ BB&T Center, Panthers lost 3-1
Fun Fact: In his time with the Detroit Red Wings, Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant was one third of the highest scoring line in Red Wings franchise history. In 1988-89, he combined with now Tampa GM Steve Yzerman, and now Ottawa head coach Paul MacLean for 140 goals and 319 points, both team records. (Credit: Red Wings Media Guide)
Entering the season, there were quite a few predictions bandied about that the Red Wings were on the cusp of seeing their streak of consecutive playoff appearances come to an end this season. It appears by their play so far this season that reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated. The Wings enter tonight sitting firmly in 3rd place of the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of 4th place Boston. They are 9th in the league in score-adjust shot attempt percentage at 52.6% and 5th in goal differential (+15). They are led by captain Henrik Zetterberg, who appears to be holding up just fine after being hampered by a back injury for much of last season. He is joined by familiar faces in Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, Justin Abdelkaeder, and Gustav Nyquist, who all have at least 15 points on the season. The Red Wings should prove to be a good test of the Panthers meddle for those reasons, especially after a disappointing performance last night.
The Rundown:
Panther Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Nick Bjugstad (8)
Assists: Jussi Jokinen (10)
Points: Nick Bjugstad, Jussi Jokinen, & Aaron Ekblad (12)
Shot Attempts (Corsi) Rel: Sean Bergenheim (+7.3%)
Power Play: 15.5% (22nd)
Penalty Kill: 80.5% (16th)
Red Wing Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Gustav Nyquist (11)
Assists: Henrik Zetterberg (18)
Points: Henrik Zetterberg (23)
Shot Attempts (Corsi) Rel: Tomas Jurco (+10.0%)
Power Play: 22.7% (6th)
Penalty Kill: 86.0% (4th)
*Shot Attempts (Corsi) Relative calculated at 5v5, having played at least one half of team’s games.
The Hat Trick:
1. Last night’s performance against the Blue Jackets left a lot to be desired, to say the least. The Panthers held a sizeable advantage in shot attempts through 40 minutes, but saw that evaporate quickly in the first half of the third period. Their inability to get going in the final 20 minutes was the Panthers undoing. Especially as Columbus is one of three teams that has as many or fewer 3rd period goals than the Panthers.
2. Despite the performance, the Panthers penalty kill continued its march forward. They went 2 for 2, bringing their total of consecutive kills to 16. This brings the PK success rating to 80.5%, good enough to take sole possession of 16th place in the league. During this stretch, the Panthers are short handed an average of 3.2 time per game. That is down from the previous 17 games, where they were shorthanded an average of 3.9 times. No doubt a smaller workload is helping the Panthers be more successful on the penalty kill.
3. Neither team had a proper morning skate this morning due to a power outage in Downtown Detroit. As of the writing of this post, it is unknown if the game will start on time. Game day routines are being uprooted as we speak. This could possibly lead to strange things happening tonight. Who knows, maybe the power will go out, again?
Projected Lineup:
Florida Panthers
L1: Huberdeau | Bjugstad | Jokinen
L2: Bergenheim | Barkov | Boyes
L3: Fleischmann | Trocheck | Hayes
L4: Kopecky | MacKenzie | Pirri
D1: Campbell | Ekblad
D2: Mitchell | Kulikov
D3: Olsen | Gudbranson
SG: Luongo
BG: Montoya
Detroit Red Wings
L1: Zetterberg | Datsyuk | Franzen
L2: Tatar | Sheahan | Nyquist
L3: Helm | Weiss | Jurco
L4: Miller | Glendening | Andersson
D1: Ericsson | Kronwall
D2: Quincey | DeKeyser
D3: Smith | Kindl
SG: Howard
BG: Mrazek
Closing Thoughts:
Word came out this afternoon that Gordie Howe suffered a second major stroke on Monday. We all wish #9 the best in his recovery.
AJ can be reached for contact on Twitter.
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