First of all, to the 4 people that read my blogs about our beloved Florida Panthers, I do apologize for being MIA. I got a promotion at work and it has been keeping me very busy until Ked wins the lotto and turns us in to a hockey dedicated Barstool Sports!
Secondly, I wanted to skip the first month or so of the season when I was reading all of the new-to-hockey (I cannot call them uneducated in this PC climate) fans saying how bad the team is when in reality, they just came off a very long and strenuous run to the Finals that had them playing essentially playoff hockey starting in February.
The team was missing key guys like Ekblad, Mountour and Bennett to start the year and clearly Tkachuk was not 100% when opening night came around.
One of the biggest things people do not understand is that hockey is a grind and to make it to the finals, it will wear your body out.
This being said, the Panthers have really hit their stride the last few weeks and are looking phenomenal. They are seated 2nd in the Atlantic with a record of 17-9-2 and are 5-4-1 in their last 10.
After their run-in with Vegas in the Finals, Zito added some extra meat and potatoes to the lineup with guys like Mikkola, Kulikov, and Lorentz.
Furthermore, Tkachuk seems to back to his usual self and instigating mischief in front of the net while Reinhart is tied for 8th in the league for points.
The Cats are looking good and playing better. So here are my takes on what I have seen so far:
- The Good:
- Tkachuk is looking like he is in prime form. He has seemed to be back to 100% and not afraid to be the pest we know and love
- Reinhart has been playing phenomenal hockey with 17 goals and20 apples
- Bob has been playing well and has 13 wins in 21 starts with a SV% of .911
- Concerns:
- In 28 games, Bob has started 21 of them. He is on pace for starting 61-62 games this season. How long until he burns out and starts giving up the softies that get the fans to turn against him? Goalies cannot sustain a 55+ game workload anymore!
- The Panthers do not have a solid back up as Knight is still down in the AHL. Stolarz’s numbers are better than they should be. The team really steps up and saves his bacon.
- The Cats need a solid backup to lighten the load on Bob or else we can expect to see some burnout down the road and potentially a lackluster playoff performance.
- Lorentz, Kulikov, and Mikkola are nice additions, but when you saw the size of the Vegas players versus the Panthers, it was clear the Cats did not have enough. I believe the Panthers are 1-2 big guys away from taking the next step. I am not looking for a Lucic or a Reaves who cannot keep up in today’s game, but I think they do need to add some more size and physicality. I can’t stand the guy, but I think the Panthers need a player like Tom Wilson in order to fight back against the bigger and more physical teams.
- Toronto does scare me with the addition of Domi, Bertuzzi, and Reaves. Toronto got pushed around in last year’s series and bringing in those boys means it will not happen again. While the Cats have Tkachuk and Bennett, they cannot afford to lose a scoring threat in a fight against a guy like Reaves. Zito needs to look around the league and see who may be available to fill that type of role.
- Hot Take – Panthers need to sign 2 long-time veterans
- Phil Kessel – every story you hear about this guy is amazing. The guy has been on 3 Stanley Cup winning teams for a reason. He is beloved by teammates and knows how to win. Bringing in some veteran presence like Phil would be great for the team.
- Corey Perry – we all know the whole thing that happened in Chicago. Perry will be looking for redemption when he gets cleared by the Players Assistance Program. He has won a Cup and been to 3 of the last 4 Finals. He also provides his “worm” like abilities and can get underneath the other team’s skin. Imagine a team not only have to deal with Chucky, but also the Worm? Who wouldn’t dread lacing them up against those two?
I think the Panthers are only a few pieces shy from taking it all the way this year. Hopefully Zito can make some moves and add a little extra sandpaper finish on this squad!
In Zito we trust!
The Morning Skate 