Rejoice! Its another edition of matinee hockey! The Panthers are in the Buckeye State to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Let’s see how CBJ is doing under Tort’s Law.
The Numbers
[table id=TS02G61 /] [table id=IS02G61 /] [table id=GM02G61 /]* – Stats are courtesy of Corsica.Hockey, War-on-Ice.com, Puckalytics.com and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
[table id=PF02G60 /] [table id=PD02G60 /] [table id=PG02G34 /] [table id=OF02G61 /] [table id=OD02G61 /] [table id=OG02G61 /]The Hat Trick
Two In A Row: The Panthers power play recently went back into a lull. After scoring eight times in five games, the power play went scoreless for six straight games. The unit had been slowly creeping up the league rankings, but has since slid back down to 27th. However, it is worthy to note that it has picked back up, minorly at least. The power play has converted two games in a row. The Panthers are 17-5-2 when scoring a power play goal.
Trouble With The Kill: Meanwhile, the other special teams group has struggled for the Panthers. They have held opposition power plays without a goal just twice in the last ten games. This has caused the Panthers PK to plummet from a Top 10 ranking to the middle of the pack. I have not had a chance to dig deep, but I will point out that this coincides with Erik Gudbranson leaving the lineup. I smell a fun little research project coming up!
Last Foligno: The Blue Jackets are coming off a hot effort on Thursday night. They routed the New Jersey Devils 6-1 on home ice, and captain Nick Foligno was the center of it all. He notched his second career hat trick en route to their eight win in the last 13 games. It just goes to show that, even if a team is in the mix for a top draft pick, they can still hurt you.
Closing Thoughts
The trade deadline looms. Keep your head cool, and stay tuned here. We won’t break the news, but we will fix it!
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