Three in a row! Have to feel pretty good about three in a row. Now, how about four in a row?
The Numbers
[table id=TS02G25 /] [table id=IS02G25 /] [table id=GM02G25 /]* – Stats are courtesy of War-on-Ice.com, Puckalytics.com and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
[table id=PRPF02G25 /] [table id=PRPD02G25 /] [table id=PRPG02G06 /] [table id=PROF02G25 /] [table id=PROD02G25 /] [table id=PROG02G25 /]The Rundown
Tuesday night’s victory over the St. Louis Blues may have been the Panthers best of the season. They handed the Blues just their third home regulation loss all season, after going 7-2-2 prior to Tuesday. The Panthers did get outattempted once again, but given that they led for a good chunk of the game and that they matched the Blues in both scoring changes and high danger attempts, I do not believe the disparity in shot attempts tells the whole story.
Indeed, from an eye test standpoint, the Panthers looked very well. Aaron Ekblad was constantly jumping up into the play and pressing the issue. Aleksander Barkov connected on a perfect blueline to blueline pass, springing Brandon Pirri for the first goal of the game. Roberto Luongo was, well, his usual awesome self. There was a lot to like about Tuesday night’s game. Hopefully it is a sign of things to come.
The challenges will continue tonight, with another game on the road in the Western Conference. Nashville is the destination, home of the Predators and another one of the league’s best possession teams. The Predators are Top 5 in both generation and suppression. They have great weapons up front like Filip Forsberg and James Neals, along with good group of defensemen led by Roman Josi. However, if the Panthers want to break through, they need to get to Pekka Rinne. His adjusted save percentage is surprisingly low at .918.
Closing Thoughts
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