Panthers downed the defending Stanley Cup champions. Tonight, they will look to down the defending Eastern Conference champions. They will do it with Roberto Luongo in net too, as he makes his first back to back appearance of the season.
The Numbers
[table id=TS02G48 /] [table id=IS02G48 /] [table id=GM02G48 /]* – Stats are courtesy of War-on-Ice.com, Puckalytics.com and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
[table id=PF02G47 /] [table id=PD02G48 /] [table id=PG02G33 /] [table id=OF02G48 /] [table id=OD02G48 /] [table id=OG02G48 /]The Hat Trick
A Satisfying Victory: The Panthers had lost four in a row heading into last night. They faced a quality opponent in the Chicago Blackhawks. A loss meant playing for first place the next night, having lost 5 in a row. This was squaring up as a situation that would have folded a lesser team, such as Panther squads of recent memory.
A lesser team the Panthers were not, however. They outplayed the defending Stanley Cup champions from top to bottom. More importantly, they delivered a desperately needed win in a tough situation. This is what great teams do. Bravo, Panthers. Bravo.
Shutout City: Last night’s performance marked just the fourth time this season that the Blackhawks were shutout by an opponent. It was the first shutout in exactly a month, the previous one coming in Dallas on December 22. However, this was super impressive on the Panthers side. This was just the third time in five seasons that the Panthers have shutout an opponent and scored 3 or more goals in the same game. The other two are: the 3-0 shutout of the New York Rangers earlier this month (1/2/16), and a 6-0 shutout of the Dallas Stars on November 15, 2011.
Want another fun shutout fact? In three of the Panthers four playoff seasons, they have collected two 3+ goal shutouts, all on home ice. In 1995-96, it was a pair of 3-0 shutouts against the Hartford Whalers on October 21, 1995 and against the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils on March 17, 1996. In 1996-97, it was a 6-0 shutout of the Hartford Whalers on October 12, 1996, and a 5-0 shutout of the Los Angeles Kings on January 4, 1997. Then in 1999-2000, it was another pair of 3-0 shutouts against the Atlanta Thrashers on November 27, 1999, and against the New York Rangers on February 16, 2000.
Drouin A Picture: The topic of the day recently has been the rather ugly split between the Tampa Bay Lightning and young left wing Jonathan Drouin. For those unfamiliar with the situation, the tl;dr version is: Drouin made a trade request in November, went public with it last month, got sent down to the minors as a result, and is now refusing to play in the AHL. Make of that what you will, but it has put the Lightning in a tough spot.
However, you wouldn’t be able to tell that from the team’s performance.
Since Drouin was assigned to Syracuse on January 2, the Lightning have lost one game, going 8-1-0, including a current seven game win streak. Their most recent victory saw the Lightning end the Blackhawks franchise record 12 game winning streak.
Closing Thoughts
In case you didn’t know, The Sunshine Skate is raising money for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) this season through #CatsForACause. Whether this is a personal issue to you, or you just want to offer support, please make a donation. Every dollar counts, and all of it goes toward helping connect a victim with the support they need.
I am returning to my usualy #CatsForACause pledge of $2 for a win and $5 for a shutout, after our boys cashed in on last night’s increased $10/$20 pledge. However, I am still pledging $10 if the Panthers score a power play goal.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
