Again? Okay then! Another Central Division opponent rolls into Sunrise tonight, let’s see how this is going to shake out.
The Numbers
Team Breakdown
| Florida Panthers | Nashville Predators | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 32-16-6 (1st Atlantic) | 25-21-9 (5th Central |
| GF/60 (5v5) | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| GA/60 (5v5) | 1.9 | 2.1 |
| CF/60 (5v5) | 46.1 | 56.3 |
| CA/60 (5v5) | 51.4 | 49 |
| PDO (5v5) | 102.3 | 98.7 |
| Power Play | 17.2% - 32 for 186 (24th) | 19.2% - 35 for 182 (13th) |
| Penalty Kill | 82.4% - 150 for 182 (9th) | 78.2% - 133 for 170 (24th) |
Individual Leaders
| Florida Panthers | Nashville Predators | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | Jaromir Jagr - 40 Jonathan Huberdeau - 40 | Roman Josi - 40 |
| Goals | Reilly Smith - 18 | James Neal - 20 |
| Assists | Jonathan Huberdeau - 29 | Roman Josi - 29 |
| PP/60 (5v5) | Reilly Smith - 1.76 | Craig Smith - 1.4 |
| iCorsi/60 (5v5) | Brandon Pirri - 15.22 | Viktor Arvidsson - 18.95 |
| CF% rel (5v5, SA) | Jussi Jokinen - 6.43% | Kevin Fiala - 8.41% |
| SCF% rel (5v5, SA) | Garrett Wilson - 10.51% | Colton Sissons - 9.7% |
| PenD (5v5) | Aleksander Barkov - 11 | Filip Forsberg - 12 |
Goalie Matchup
| Roberto Luongo | Carter Hutton | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 24-13-5 | 8-5-1 |
| AdjSv% (5v5) | 93.44% | 91.58% |
| GAA | 2.23 | 2.36 |
* – Stats are courtesy of War-on-Ice.com, Puckalytics.com and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
Florida Panthers
| #11 Jonathan Huberdeau | #27 Nick Bjugstad | #68 Jaromir Jagr |
| #36 Jussi Jokinen | #21 Vincent Trocheck | #18 Reilly Smith |
| #42 Quinton Howden | #73 Brandon Pirri | #48 Logan Shaw |
| #28 Garrett Wilson | #17 Derek MacKenzie | #45 John McFarland |
| #7 Dmitry Kulikov | #5 Aaron Ekblad |
| #51 Brian Campbell | #6 Alex Petrovic |
| #3 Steven Kampfer | #37 Brent Regner |
| #1 Roberto Luongo |
| #35 Al Montoya |
Nashville Predators
| Calle Jarnkrok | Ryan Johansen | James Neal |
| Filip Forsberg | Mike Ribeiro | Craig Smith |
| Colin Wilson | Mike Fisher | Viktor Arvidsson |
| Miikka Salomakki | Paul Gaustad | Cody Bass |
| Roman Josi | Shea Weber |
| Mattias Ekholm | Ryan Ellis |
| Barret Jackman | Anthony Bitetto |
| Carter Hutton |
| Pekka Rinne |
The Hat Trick
Just Keep Shooting: We’ve been harping on it all year: Florida’s biggest struggle is not their lack of a proven thirty goal scorer (come on, y’all, stop with that) or their anemic power play — it’s their shot generation. My pal Micah (@IneffectiveMath) brings us some positive news on that front:
Unblocked shot rates. pic.twitter.com/zhIuyUiXLs
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) February 12, 2016
Here’s how to read that, quickly: up is good and to the right is good. Florida’s improving beautifully — and promisingly, Nashville is plummeting down and to the left.
All-Star Goaltending? While he got pulled last night, that wasn’t his fault and we all know what Roberto Luongo is capable of. Nashville hasn’t announced a starter, but Pekka Rinne played last night, which should mean we see Carter Hutton tonight, and that’s a lot less of a good thing than I’m used to. Rinne has been awful this season, contributing more to Nashville’s losses than their wins this year. Luckily, Hutton may be doing well, but he’s a league average goaltender at best, so Florida is in good shape no matter who shows up in the opponents net — as long as they get to it.
Bjugstad Shoots, He’ll Eventually Score: Nick Bjugstad has gone from conquering hero to seemingly everyone’s favorite punching bag since his return from battling with migraines. The lack of goals from such a talented shooter is definitely worrying — but he’s doing everything right. Fans simply aren’t used to a cold stretch from Bjugstad. His shot total hasn’t slowed down at all, just the conversion rate — and that happens! Give him time and he’ll get back to it, just like Huberdeau did after not scoring goals at all to start this season … and like Bjugstad did at the start of last season.
Closing Thoughts
Don’t forget to donate to #CatsForACause! This is it, this is my only thought.
