Hit The Ice:
This is it. The 2014-15 season winds down for the Florida Panthers tonight. The Panthers gave their fans one heck of a thrill in the penultimate game of the season with a rousing 4-2 win against the Boston Bruins. Now the season ends on home ice the same way it began: with a game against the New Jersey Devils. It is the last hurrah for the season, let us celebrate the NHL’s most improved team tonight. Can the Panthers end this year of improvement on a high note? On to the game!
Know Your Enemy:
Panthers All-Time Record v. New Jersey: 27-44-7 with 7 ties
All-Time Record v. New Jersey at Home: 16-18-4 with 4 ties
2014-15 Season Record v. New Jersey: 0-2-0
Last Game: 1/31/15 @ Prudential Center (Newark, NJ), Devils won 3-1
What is there to say about the Devils? Not much was expected of the squad, and that is exactly what happened. The Devils never seriously challenged for a higher spot in the standings, yet did not sink to the depths of suck that Buffalo and Arizona did. The most interesting thing that has happened to the Devils since they last faced the Panthers is the fact that they traded away two key veterans. They shipped defenseman Marek Zidlicky off to the Detroit Red Wings for a 3rd round pick in 2016 at the trade deadline. The other traded veteran is, of course, Jaromir Jagr, and we all know how that has worked out for the Panthers. For the Devils, Jagr actually continues to be a presence on the New Jersey statline, despite having been gone since the end of February. He is still the Devils team leader in SAT Rel (+6.1%), Scoring Chance Rel (+5.9%), and remains 6th in team scoring. The Devils enter tonight cold as a glacier. They have won just once in their last 11 games, and had scored 2 or fewer goals in ten straight games prior to their three goal effort in losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. The Devils have also given up 3 or more goals in eight of their last 11 games as well, so things just have not been working down the stretch for New Jersey.
Historical Data Courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com
The Rundown:
Panthers Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Nick Bjugstad (24)
Assists: Jonathan Huberdeau (39)
Points: Jonathan Huberdeau (53)
SAT Relative: Brian Campbell (+5.1%)
Scoring Chances Relative: Brian Campbell (+6.5%)
Individual Shot Attempts (Total): Nick Bjugstad (238)
Individual Shot Attempts (Rate/60): Brandon Pirri (17.6)
Power Play: 16.0% (39 for 243, 27th)
Penalty Kill: 79.9% (199 for 249, 23rd)
Devils Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Mike Cammalleri (27)
Assists: Adam Henrique (27)
Points: Adam Henrique (43)
SAT Relative: Jacob Josefson (+4.1%)
Scoring Chances Relative: Adam Larsson (+3.7%)
Individual Shot Attempts (Total): Andy Greene (187)
Individual Shot Attempts (Rate/60): Michael Ryder (13.5)
Power Play: 19.4% (41 for 211, 9th)
Penalty Kill: 80.8% (214 for 265, 19th)
Data Courtesy of war-on-ice.com, Puckalytics.com, & NHL.com
The Hat Trick:
Well Done: Thursday night’s decisive victory over the Boston Bruins was a great feat for the Panthers, specifically in the third period. It marked the first time the Panthers were able to score two or more goals than their opponent since going 2-0 in the third period of their February 24 game in Chicago. It is also the first time they have scored three or more goals in the third period since laying four down on the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 28. Although Luongo conceded a goal to Brad Marchand, a seeing eye puck that flew through traffic and into the net, he put up a .941 save percentage, the best the Panthers have gotten in a tied situation since he blanked the Montreal Canadiens in the 3rd on March 28. The most important thing though is that the Panthers played that third period against a very desperate team with its season on the line. Not only did they not fold, they grabbed the game and never let go. The Bruins did pump the Panthers on shot attempts 26-15, but would you expect any less from a team that trailed for nearly 16 minutes of the 3rd and couldn’t afford to lose that game? Fact is the Panthers rose to the occasion, took control of the game, and never looked back. If this is the new normal, Sunrise will no longer be a fun place to play for opponents.
Hello, Old Friends: In today’s season finale, Jaromir Jagr plays his most recent former team for the first time since his February 26 trade from New Jersey to the Panthers. It marked the seventh time Jagr has changed his team, and you know what that means: a lot of return trips. In six career first return games, Jagr has accounted for four assists. That’s all right, but the trend gets better when looking at all of his games against former teams. Prior to tonight, Jagr has played a combined 111 return games against his former teams, most recently Thursday night against the Boston Bruins. With his two assists in that game, he now has 100 points against all of his former teams (36 goals and 64 assists). He’s scored the most against Pittsburgh, with 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) in 51 games, but he is over a point per game against the Philadelphia Flyers with ten points in eight games (5 goals, 5 assists).
Closing It Down: Tonight, the Panthers will close a season on home ice for the 15th time in franchise history. Historically speaking, the Panthers have closed out their seasons, very well, both generally and at home. The Panthers are 11-5-2 with 2 ties in season closing games, having outscored their opponents 67-52 in those games. When looking at just home closing games, the Panthers are a very similar 10-6-2 with 2 ties, outscoring their opponents 63-56. The highest scoring final game of the season took place on this very day in 2009, a 7-4 barnburning win over the Washington Captials at home. The greatest margin of victory came on April 17, 1999, a 6-2 rout of the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning, also at home. However, the Panthers lost their last closing game 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 12, 2014, and have lost their last two home closers, dropping their final home game of the 2012-13 season 4-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 25, 2013. The last home closing victory came on April 7, 2012, when the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1, securing the Southeast Division title.
Projected Lineup:
Florida Panthers
L1: Huberdeau | Barkov | Jagr
L2: Pirri | Trocheck | Hayes
L3: Jokinen | Bolland | Boyes
L4: Upshall | MacKenzie | Thornton
D1: Campbell | Ekblad
D2: Mitchell | Kampfer
D3: Kulikov | Petrovic
SG: Montoya
BG: Luongo
New Jersey Devils
L1: Henrique | Gomez | Bernier
L2: Cammalleri | Zajac | Tootoo
L3: Zubrus | Elias | Gionta
L4: Boucher | Josefson | Ruutu
D1: Greene | Larsson
D2: Fraser | Severson
D3: Helgeson | Hrabarenka
SG: Schneider
BG: Kinkaid
Courtesy of Daily Faceoff (Accurate as of 1:30 pm)
Closing Thoughts:
We want to thank you for reading the Sunshine Skate this season! It has been an interesting and fun rookie campaign for our site, and we couldn’t have done it without you, the reader. We’re excited about the future of this site, and of course the Florida Panthers. We can’t wait for next season!
AJ can be reached for contact on Twitter.
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