Hit The Ice:
Did you miss the Panthers while they have been resting? Of course you have! The Cats are back to finish their franchise record tying 7-game homestand with a tilt against their former division rival, the Winnipeg Jets. Enjoy the home cooking too, because seven of the next ten games after tonight will be on the road. The Panthers did well in their last game way back before the beginning of daylight savings time, knocking off the Islanders in the shootout, earning goaltender Dan Ellis his first win as a Panther. He’ll be looking for number two, as Roberto Luongo remains on the shelf. Will the Panthers down the Jets and leave town on the right foot for their two-game road trip? On to the game!
Know Your Enemy:
Panthers All-Time Record v. Winnipeg: 32-33-12 with 5 ties (6-4-4 since relocation to Winnipeg)
All-Time Record v. Winnipeg at Home: 19-15-6 with 1 tie (4-0-3 since relocation to Winnipeg)
2014-15 Season Record v. Winnipeg: 0-1-0
Last Game: 1/13/15 @ MTS Centre (Winnipeg, MB), Jets won 8-2
Panthers fans have likely blocked out the experience of January 13 in Winnipeg by now. However, it is in the past now, and its neither here nor there. For the Jets, the time since then has seen the team maintain their Wild Card status in the Western Conference despite intense pressure from several teams, mostly from the Defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, and the hard charging Minnesota Wild, who have passed the Jets into the first Wild Card spot. The biggest news, however, has been the trade with the Buffalo Sabres which saw the Jets part ways with Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane, the latter who appeared to have worn out his welcome in the Canadian Prairie. Coming the other way from Buffalo was 6’8” defenseman and former Calder Trophy winner Tyler Myers, and former 30-goal scorer Drew Stafford. While Stafford has put up a respectable six points (three goals, three assists) in the 11 games since the trade, Tyler Myers has been the primary beneficiary of leaving the tire fire that is Buffalo. He has collected nine points (two goals, seven assists) over that span. He is joined by three others Jets with nine or more points in the last 11 games: Andrew Ladd (10), Blake Wheeler (9 in nine games), and Michael Frolik (9). Mark Scheifele is also lurking around the Jets scoresheet, collecting 8 points in 11 games. However, the Jets have recently lost two key players to injury in leading goal scorer Bryan Little, and leading scorer among defesemen Dustin Byfuglien. They’re also missing the services of Mathieu Perreault, who had been having a terrific first season in Winnipeg with 36 points in 56 games. The Panthers are likely to draw Michael Hutchinson in goal, who is coming off a horrific start against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. He surrendered four goals on seven shots, and his night ended with Steve Ott and Jori Lehtera goals just 1:01 apart in the second period. The Jets would rally to tie the games, however St. Louis scored late in the third period to send the Jets packing with a 5-4 regulation loss. It left the Jets road record at a lackluster 2-6-2 over the last 10 games.
The Rundown:
Panthers Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Nick Bjugstad (23)
Assists: Jussi Jokinen (30)
Points: Nick Bjugstad (40)
SAT Relative: Brian Campbell (+3.7%)
Scoring Chances Relative: Brian Campbell & Vincent Trocheck (+5.9%)
Power Play: 15.5% (31 for 200, 27th)
Penalty Kill: 79.6% (164 for 206, 24th)
Jets Leaders & Special Teams
Goals: Bryan Little (24)
Assists: Andrew Ladd (32)
Points: Andrew Ladd (55)
SAT Relative: Blake Wheeler (+4.8%)
Scoring Chances Relative: Blake Wheeler (+6.4%)
Power Play: 18.0% (40 for 222, 17th)
Penalty Kill: 81.0% (217 for 268, 19th)
*SAT and Scoring Chances calculated at 5v5, having played at least one half of team’s games.
The Hat Trick:
That’s It! Back to Winnipeg Sunrise!: While MTS Centre in Winnipeg has been less than kind to the Panthers since the Jets relocated from Atlanta, the BB&T Center has been just as bad to the Jets over the same time. The Panthers have gone 4-0-3 against the Jets in Sunrise, collecting 11 out of a possible 14 points. The domination doesn’t stop at just the record though. When the Panthers have won, they have won big. The Panthers have scored four or more goals in three of the four victories, and have outscored the Jets by a combined 17-7 in all of their home wins. All Panther victories have also come in regulation. Even when the Panthers have lost, they have gone done scratching and clawing the whole way. The Jets have only outscored the Panthers 11-9 (not including the goal awarded for a shootout victory on 10/31/11), while the Panthers have out shot the Jets a whopping 120-89 in those losing efforts. Its a win or go down in a blaze of glory proposition, apparently.
Nicky Bjug-Bjug and His 40 Points: Nick Bjugstad became the first 40 point Panther this season when he potted his 23rd goal of the season against the New York Islanders on Saturday. In fact, its the first time since the 2011-12 season that the Panthers have had a 40 point player. The last ones to do it that season were: Tomas Fleischmann (61), Stephen Weiss (57), Kris Versteeg (54), and Brian Campbell (53). This is a massive improvement from last season, when the Panthers failed to host a 40 point scorer on their roster for the first time during a full season in franchise history. Now, the Panthers mission is to avoid making this only the third full season with one or fewer 40 point scorers on the roster, with 2000-01 being the only other season. Pavel Bure put up 92 points that year, 55 more than Viktor Kozlov, who had the 2nd most points on the team at 37. The chances are good that the Panthers will avoid this fate, as Jonathan Huberdeau currently sits at 39 points, with Jussi Jokinen (36), Aaron Ekblad (34), and Brad Boyes (32) close behind, all standing decent chances to crack 40 points before the season is out.
Can You Even Play 80 Games, Bro?: Aaron Ekblad may have lost his bid for a full 82 game season on Saturday, due to a bout of the flu, but he is still on track to do something only one other Panthers rookie has ever managed to do: play 80+ games in a season. That one rookie was Jay Bouwmeester, who played a full 82 game season as a rookie for the Panthers in 2002-03. In fact, only eight Panthers rookies have even managed to play 75 games in a season: Bouwmeester, Michael Frolik (79, 2008-09), Kristian Huselius (79, 2001-02), Niklas Hagman (78, 2001-02), Stephen Weiss (77, 2002-03), Radek Dvorak (77, 1995-96), Nick Bjugstad (76, 2013-14), and Kamil Kreps (76, 2007-08).
Projected Lineup:
Florida Panthers
L1: Huberdeau | Barkov | Jagr
L2: Jokinen | Bjugstad | Boyes
L3: Pirri | Trocheck | Hayes
L4: Upshall | MacKenzie | Thornton
D1: Campbell | Ekblad
D2: Kulikov | Mitchell
D3: Kampfer | Gudbranson
SG: Ellis
BG: Brittain
Winnipeg Jets
L1: Ladd | Lowry | Frolik
L2: Stafford | Scheifele | Wheeler
L3: Tlusty| Slater | Stempniak
L4: Thorburn | O’Dell | Peluso
D1: Enstrom | Myers
D2: Stuart | Trouba
D3: Pardy | Harrison
SG: Hutchinson
BG: Pavelec
Courtesy of Daily Faceoff (Accurate as of 10:00 am)
Closing Thoughts:
Did you know that the original Winnipeg Jets were the beneficiary of possibly the worst video goal review of all time? Check it out here with commentary from future Panthers GM Dale Tallon.
