Florida goes for twelve in a row tonight against a team that scored five goals in their last game — sadly, three of those were into their own net.
The Numbers
[table id=TS02G42 /] [table id=IS02G42 /] [table id=GM02G42 /]* – Stats are courtesy of War-on-Ice.com, Puckalytics.com and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
[table id=PF02G39 /] [table id=PD02G39 /] [table id=PG02G34 /] [table id=OF02G42 /] [table id=OD02G42 /] [table id=OG02G42 /]The Hat Trick
The L-Word: Florida started their winning streak off strong — in December, they ranked fourth in the league in possession. Lately, their possession game has weakened, but they’re still winning like crazy. After years of watching Panthers teams shooting themselves in the foot with hideous luck, this feels like a just reward. Did someone break a mirror back in 2008 or something? Whatever is happening, I hope this luck never runs out, because this is fun.
Drafting: The mess that is the Edmonton Oilers is an interesting counterpoint to recent critiques of Tallon’s role in creating the Florida roster that boil down to “anyone can draft well in the top three.” Sure, anyone can. Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, and Connor McDavid are all great players — but the Oilers still aren’t anything close to good. The Oilers once again look like they’re going to finish last in the Western Conference.
Barkov Forever: The Barkov line is on fire. Meanwhile, Seth Jones is a Blue Jacket and Jonathan Drouin is in the AHL. For the first time in years, Florida has three forwards in the top ninety in scoring: a true first line — and the two best players on it should only continue to improve. Barkov is finally showing off the offensive skills we knew he had and Huberdeau is currently tied for eleventh in the league in assists and fifth in primary assists.
Closing Thoughts
Glad to see @cmcdavid97 is recovering well from surgery. Made a big step tonight when he reached for his wallet at dinner. #T-rexArms 🐦
— Aaron Ekblad (@Ekblad5FLA) January 10, 2016
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