The Panthers suffered a tough loss on Saturday night and they’ve had two days to lick their wounds and think. Hopefully, the downtime has done them well. They will face a struggling Pittsburgh Penguins squad tonight in the Golden Triangle. Can the Panthers take advantage and get back on track? Let’s find out!
The Numbers
[table id=TS02G06 /] [table id=IS02G06 /] [table id=GM02G06 /]* – Stats are courtesy of War-on-Ice.com, Puckalytics.com and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
[table id=PRPF02G06 /] [table id=PRPD02G06 /] [table id=PRPG02G06 /] [table id=PROF02G06 /] [table id=PROD02G06 /] [table id=PROG02G06 /]The Rundown
Saturday night was an ugly night for the Panthers. It had the familiar ring of missed opportunity. It’s never a good thing when you squander a one-goal lead to start the 3rd period and then it’s a real kick in the head to yield the winning goal so late in the 3rd. As I mentioned yesterday in Monday Mania, the Panthers cannot make a habit of this. If they do, it could cost them a playoff spot.
The first half of the game was good for the Panthers though. They were able to roll with Dallas, and cash in on a couple chances. Aleksander Barkov continued his excellent start to the season. The defensemen were jumping up into the play. Jagr added to his team leading point total. This team has it in them to be good, they just need to find a way to consistently protect the leads they gain.
Another team who had a rough Saturday night was the Pittsburgh Penguins. They did, indeed, win their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, they did not dispatch the Leafs with authority. It was a tight game, to the point where the Leafs were able to regularly gain controlled entry to the Pittsburgh end. Meanwhile, the Penguins potent offense, with two of hockey’s premier stars along with one of the league’s best goal scorers, regularly dumped the puck. It was not a sight you’d expect to see with the firepower present in the lineup. By the way, their two goals both came off the rush on controlled entries.
Perhaps, given the above, it is not surprising to see that only three Penguins have multiple points on the season, and ten Penguins are without a point. It’s not just bottom rung players who are without a point either. Notable forwards like Chris Kunitz and David Perron have been shutout so far this season. However, the biggest name on this list is the biggest name period: Sidney Crosby. This is a truly rare occurrence. Only once before in his NHL career has Crosby gone more than three games without a point, and that was a five game stretch from 10/31/09 vs. Minnesota to 11/10/09 at Boston, back when the Penguins were defending their most recent Stanley Cup victory.
One has to imagine that, as a matter of pride, this won’t last much longer. The Panthers just better hope they aren’t the ones Crosby decides to operate on. If not him, there are plenty of other folks on that team who are guaranteed to be less than happy about the current situation.
Closing Thoughts
A wounded animal is still dangerous, beware getting too cosy with a struggling opponent.
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