In the spirit of journalistic integrity, I have a confession about game 3 of this series. My kid had his travel hockey tryouts Thursday so I had to sit in the bar at the rink (which is awesome by the way – when did most rinks start having bars inside of them?) with my attention flipping between the kids on the ice, the Panthers game, and the hockey games on the other TV’s.
And yes, those little sons of bitches stayed on the ice from 7pm to 10pm and fought us to get off the ice. If I had that type of energy, my boss would make me pee in a cup.
The good news is he ended up making the team and could not be more excited. The bad news is that I can already hear my bank account screaming – so in case anyone wants to buy ad space in this blog, I am not above selling my soul and writing about my “new” favorite deli or pizza place. This ad is brought to you by Whitey’s Pizza!
Anyways, you don’t come here to listen to my problems, you come here to read the most intellectual insight on Florida Panthers hockey. So here we go!
Game 3 Breakdown:
What did I say when this series opened? HAMMER THE DAMN OVER!!
Game 1 had 9 goals, game 2 only 4, and then game 3 had 11 goals scored.
Also, while I know Vasi is a stud of a goaltender and really shut the Panthers down in Game 2, did anyone else think that Lomberg’s GWG was kind of a muffin? I know he was on a breakaway, but it didn’t seem like a great shot, right? In my opinion, Vasi should have had that one, especially making $9.5-million/year. Vasilevskiy is playing as bi-polar as a goalie can in a series. And yes, to all you idiots out there saying “let’s see you save it”, I understand that goal would probably go in on my ass, but there is a reason he is getting paid to play and I am the most average beer league tendy you have ever seen.
The Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the first then decided that they didn’t need to play the 2nd period giving up 5 goals. I mean that seems more like an aforementioned beer league game than an NHL game. It was like every time I looked back to the TV the score had changed.
Dreidger gave up 5 goals on 22 shots against the Lightning and got pulled for Bob to start the 3rd. If the Panthers want to make a push to come back in this series, the goaltending must be better.
Bennett, fresh off his 1 game suspension, got the first goal for the Cats and will continue to be an X-factor moving forward.
Yandle got healthy scratched ending his 979 game Iron Man Streak.
Hornqvist got on the board with a PP goal to make the game 5-4 late in the 3rd.
It was a great push and the Cats needed that win. Maybe having their backs against the brink of elimination will force them to play their balls off and get another W.
Game 4 Predictions:
In tonight’s game, expect to see a world-class performance from Bobrovsky as he knows that Q has him on a short leash and he has to fight for his net time out there.
Also, the Panthers need to stay out of the box. The Lightning PP was deadly and can really be a major swing factor if the Panthers keep taking dumb penalties.
My prediction, Hubby has a 3-point night, Bob plays outstanding, and the Cats bring win 5-2 bringing a 2-2 series back Sunrise.
Gambling with the Goalie:
Again, take these for what they are worth, but here are my plays today:
- Panthers ML
- Panthers Lightning – Hammer the Fucking Over
- Sprinkle a bit on the Canadiens as their odds are nice right now
- Still waiting to see how I feel about the Isles or Wild
Everybody Rides, let’s make some money!
The Morning Skate 