Today’s Pre-Game Skate brought to you by an actual written introduction! Panthers looking to build off a big win on Thursday night. They will look to fend off the high flying Flyers.
The Numbers
Team Breakdown
| Florida Panthers | Philadelphia Flyers | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 37-21-9 (2nd Atlantic) | 32-23-11 (5th Metropolitan) |
| GF/60 (5v5) | 2.4 | 2.1 |
| GA/60 (5v5) | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| CF/60 (5v5) | 48.8 | 57.4 |
| CA/60 (5v5) | 51.3 | 58.0 |
| PDO (5v5) | 101.5 | 100.8 |
| Power Play | 16.4% - 38 for 231 (27th) | 18.9% - 42 for 222 (14th) |
| Penalty Kill | 81.5% - 179 for 220 (12th) | 79.8% - 178 for 223 (21st) |
Individual Leaders
| Florida Panthers | Philadelphia Flyers | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | Jaromir Jagr - 51 | Claude Giroux - 57 |
| Goals | Jaromir Jagr - 23 | Wayne Simmonds - 24 |
| Assists | Jussi Jokinen - 36 | Claude Giroux - 39 |
| P1/60 (5v5) | Jaromir Jagr - 2.02 | Sean Couturier - 1.53 |
| iCorsi/60 (5v5) | Nick Bjugstad - 13.0 | Wayne Simmonds - 15.9 |
| CF% rel (5v5, SA) | Jussi Jokinen - +6.6% | Radko Gudas - +5.2% |
| PenD (5v5) | Aleksander Barkov - +10 | Claude Giroux - +9 |
Goalie Matchup
| Roberto Luongo | Michal Neuvirth | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 28-16-6 | 16-8-4 |
| Sv% | .923 | .925 |
| AvgShDA (feet) | 33.06 | 36.12 |
| ReboundAg/60 | 2.27 | 2.59 |
| RushShotAg/60 | 2.01 | 2.91 |
| GAA | 2.32 | 2.29 |
* – Stats are courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
Florida Panthers
| #11 Jonathan Huberdeau | #16 Aleksander Barkov | #68 Jaromir Jagr |
| #36 Jussi Jokinen | #21 Vincent Trocheck | #18 Reilly Smith |
| #48 Logan Shaw | #27 Nick Bjugstad | #24 Jiri Hudler |
| #28 Garrett Wilson | #17 Derek MacKenzie | #92 Kyle Rau |
| #7 Dmitry Kulikov | #5 Aaron Ekblad |
| #51 Brian Campbell | #44 Erik Gudbranson |
| #46 Jakub Kindl | #6 Alex Petrovic |
| #1 Roberto Luongo |
| #35 Al Montoya |
Philadelphia Flyers
| #10 Brayden Schenn | #28 Claude Giroux | #17 Wayne Simmonds |
| #12 Michael Raffl | #14 Sean Couturier | #89 Sam Gagner |
| #21 Scott Laughton | #52 Nick Cousins | #24 Matt Read |
| #76 Chris VandeVelde | #78 Pierre-Marc Bellemare | #25 Ryan White |
| #45 Andrew MacDonald | #53 Shayne Gostisbehere |
| #55 Nick Schultz | #32 Mark Streit |
| #23 Brandon Manning | #3 Radko Gudas |
| #30 Michal Neuvirth |
| #35 Steve Mason |
The Hat Trick
The Divisible By Three Line: It has been a hot time for the line of Jussi Jokinen, Vincent Trocheck, and Reilly Smith. Trocheck turned in his second four point game of the season (and his career) in the last game, and Jokinen extended his Panthers season-long nine game point streak. Meanwhile, Reilly Smith has points in four of his last five games. The line is not just all offense either. They give up just 42.93 CA/60 as a unit. The only line in the league that gives up fewer shot attempts against (min. 300 TOI) than them is the Rickard Rakell-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry line in Anaheim (41.61 CA/60). The Divisible By Three Line also boasts the 6th best CF% at 58.1 and the 2nd best CFRel% at 10.54 (behind only Minnesota’s Jason Zucker-Mikko Koivu-Nino Niederreiter).
Rau Back: Kyle Rau is returning to the lineup tonight, after a one game absence. He is currently listed as being on the 4th line, but I am hoping that changes. He is a better fit in the Top 9, in my opinion, specifically with Nick Bjugstad. I made the case earlier this week when I took a look at the sudden rise in Bjugstad’s individual shooting rate. It seems to coincide with the arrival of Kyle Rau. Bjugstad turned in one of his lowest shot rates of the last ten games away from Rau last game. One game is hardly evidence of a pattern, but this is something to keep an eye on.
Flying Flyers and the Ghost Bear: The Panthers welcome in a highly motivated opponent tonight in the Philadelphia Flyers. This squad has spent much of the season on the outside looking in on the playoff picture. However, a surge of late has the Flyers just two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers enter tonight with an 8-2-1 record in their last 11 games, most recently beating the Lightning 3-1 last night in Tampa.
Its not just the team to watch for tonight, there’s also one specific player Panther fans should watch with some level of pride: Shayne Gostisbehere. The Broward County native has had a breakout, rookie performance on the Flyers blueline, and will be playing his first NHL game in his home county. He leads all rookie defensemen with 37 points, that’s ten more than St. Louis’ Colton Parayko, who sits second (having played 18 more games than Gostisbehere). Though he plays for the enemy tonight, Ghost Bear represents the growth of hockey in this area. He is a born and raised Floridian making waves in the NHL, and that is really awesome to see. He may be the first, but he certainly won’t be the last.
Closing Thoughts
Don’t forget to donate to #CatsForACause!
Also, welcome back these guys
